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Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive.
Donald Rumsfeld
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Donald Rumsfeld
Age: 88 †
Born: 1932
Born: July 9
Died: 2021
Died: June 29
Author
Businessperson
Diplomat
Former U.S. Secretary Of Defense
Military Officer
Politician
Chicago
Illinois
Donald Henry Rumsfeld
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More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld
In our system leadership is by consent, not command. To lead a President must persuade. Personal contacts and experiences help shape his thinking. They can be critical to his persuasiveness and thus to his leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld
If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't I'll just respond cleverly.
Donald Rumsfeld
Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, 'The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind'.
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There are things that we know, and there are things that we don't know. Then there are the things that we don't even know that we don't know. Those are the things that are the hardest.
Donald Rumsfeld
Every country should be tired of going to war. War is a terrible thing. If I had been in Congress, as much as I would be inclined naturally to be supportive of a president, any president, I would have voted no, had the issue come to a vote.
Donald Rumsfeld
It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
Donald Rumsfeld
Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll risk losing your balance. Keep your mooring lines to the outside world - family, friends, neighbors, people out of government, and people who may not agree with you.
Donald Rumsfeld
In unanimity there may well be either cowardice or uncritical thinking.
Donald Rumsfeld
When I served as US Ambassador to NATO in the 1970s, the center of gravity in Europe was France and Germany.
Donald Rumsfeld
No terror state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld
We don't seek empires.We're not imperialistic.
Donald Rumsfeld
If a person is determined to fight to the death, then they may very well have that opportunity.
Donald Rumsfeld
The natural state of man is to want to be free. To have opportunities. To have choices.
Donald Rumsfeld
You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
Donald Rumsfeld
And there is, I am certain, among the Iraqi people a respect for the care and the precision that went into the bombing campaign.
Donald Rumsfeld
It's a difficult thing today to be informed about our government even without all the secrecy.
Donald Rumsfeld
Oh, Lord. I didn't mean to say anything quotable.
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
Donald Rumsfeld
Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.
Donald Rumsfeld
