Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.

Quote by Donald Rumsfeld

Topics: Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.

Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.

One of your tasks is to separate the personal from the substantive. The two can...

One of your tasks is to separate the personal from the substantive. The two can...

Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.

Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.

Don't divide the world into hem and us. Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the...

Don't divide the world into hem and us. Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the...

It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal...

It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal...

Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead...

Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead...

Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries...

Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries...

Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll...

Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll...

Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps...

Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps...

Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.

Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.

Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.

Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.

If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.

If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying...

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying...

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of...

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of...

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying...

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying...

Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.

Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort...

Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort...

There can be no assumption that today's majority is ight and the Amish and others...

There can be no assumption that today's majority is ight and the Amish and others...

A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.

A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.

My childhood should have taught me lessons for my own fatherhood, but it didn't because...

My childhood should have taught me lessons for my own fatherhood, but it didn't because...

A manager should stay as far away as possible from his players. I don't know...

A manager should stay as far away as possible from his players. I don't know...

On a good day, I view the job [of president] as directing an orchestra. On...

On a good day, I view the job [of president] as directing an orchestra. On...