To supervise people, you must either surpass them in their accomplishments or despise them.

This President is going to lead us out of this recovery.

I have always been grateful to Colonel Longley. He proved to me that when people in authority take a stand, good can come out of it.

A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.

We also can’t try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. That’s not leadership; that’s a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately weakens us. It’s the lesson of Vietnam, of Iraq – and we should have learned it by now.

Political courage is not political suicide.

Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.

I’ve been a mogul and executive since the beginning of my career. People are just born with that skill.

If I made a commitment, I stood by that commitment – and try to make it real. Because when you become leaders, the most important thing you have is your word, your trust. That’s where respect comes from.

If you don’t drive your business, you will be driven out of business.

By most accounts, Aristide is the most popular figure in Haiti.

Every President I think I’ve ever known, except Truman, has thought they didn’t quite get done what they wanted done. And toward the end of their Administrations, they were disappointed and wished they had done some things differently.

Never give an order that can’t be obeyed.

If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.

When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.

The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‚We did it ourselves.‘

Some people want to win races. Other people want to be President of the United States.

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

No one person controls Microsoft. The board and the shareholders decide whether they want to have me as CEO.

I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.

Presidents quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good.

In George Bush you get experience, and with me you get – The Future!

He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.

A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts.

A director makes 100 decisions an hour. Students ask me how you know how to make the right decision, and I say to them, ‚If you don’t know how to make the right decision, you’re not a director.‘

The buck stops here!

My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.

This country is being managed to death, being public related to death.

Our friends at the Republican convention were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn’t have much to say about how they’d make it right. They want your vote, but they don’t want you to know their plan.

One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is ‚to be prepared‘.

The onus is on the managers to send out an attacking formation and to tell their players to be bold.

Leaders who fail to prune their pride will meet demise. That’s not a guess, it’s a guarantee. With pride, it’s not a matter of ‚if‘ we will fall, but ‚when.‘ There are no exceptions.

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.

To the person with a firm purpose all men and things are servants.

I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as ‚us‘ and ‚them‘ – he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above… he knows that we all love our country… and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas… he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

A lot has happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war, and it’s been tested by recession and all manner of challenges – I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your president, to tell you I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before.

When there is a lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned.

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.

International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn’t pay his protection money. You have to have obedience; otherwise, the idea can spread that you don’t have to listen to the orders, and it can spread to important places.

The most important thing for a director is being able to communicate.

People and organizations don’t grow much without delegation and completed staff work because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses.

I can make more generals, but horses cost money.

Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others.

We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.

I’m glad I’m not Brezhnev. Being the Russian leader in the Kremlin. You never know if someone’s tape recording what you say.

Every President wants to do right.

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.

People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.

The mob is the mother of tyrants.

I know it’s going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we’re in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money.

Louis van Gaal is one of the most successful managers in the world.

Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!

I’m going to be so much better a president for having been at the CIA that you’re not going to believe it.

The wisest have the most authority.

Old age is not a matter for sorrow. It is matter for thanks if we have left our work done behind us.

Having the support from everyone, the bosses, whoever within the team, definitely makes it much easier for me as a driver.

I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.

There is probably a perverse pride in my administration… that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular. And I think anybody who’s occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can’t be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.