There’s another way to phrase that and that is that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. It is basically saying the same thing in a different way. Simply because you do not have evidence that something does exist does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist.
Don’t be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.
It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.
The dead-enders are still with us, those remnants of the defeated regimes who’ll go on fighting long after their cause is lost.
You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.
The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.
The way to do well is to do well.
Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.
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.
The press always wants to know how many people will be killed or how much it will cost, but the answers to those questions are not knowable.
You’re thinking of Eurpoe as Germany and France. I don’t. I think that’s old Europe.
I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started.
NATO member states vary dramatically in their capability and in their political steadfastness.
When you raise issues with the President, try to come away with both that decision and also a precedent. Pose issues so as to evoke broader policy guidance. This can help to answer a range of similar issues likely to arise later.
Look for what’s missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what’s proposed or what’s gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn’t there.
Visit with your predecessors from previous Administrations. They know the ropes and can help you see around some corners. Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs.
The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.
Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin’s still learning.
When I served as US Ambassador to NATO in the 1970s, the center of gravity in Europe was France and Germany.