The path to the CEO’s office should not be through the CFO’s office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design.

We named the book ‚Extreme Ownership‘ because we really found that when we looked at not only at leaders but at teams that were the most successful, we found that the ones that had this attitude of extreme ownership were the ones that did the best, and it’s definitely an attitude that I had.

Be the chief but never the lord.

Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.

In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

You’ve all seen over the last eight years what President Obama means to this country. He is the embodiment of honor, resolve, and character – one of the finest presidents we have ever had.

All of us are mentors. You’re mentors right here and now. And one of the things I’ve always done throughout my life, I have always found that person, that group of people that I was going to reach my hand out and help bring them along with me.

Gray Davis can run a dirty campaign better than anyone, but he can’t run a state.

So, for example, a country was into recession right after I was sworn in, a dot-com bust had taken place. Then the attacks of September the 11th, and then of course the great financial meltdown in the -the fundamental question facing any presidency is how do you deal with the hand you’re dealt?

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else – I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.

Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one.

I’ve seen how the issues that come across a president’s desk are always the hard ones – the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer.

Leaders who are kind of insecure or egocentric, they basically sabotage themselves.

But for me to have the opportunity to stand in front of a bunch of executives and present myself, I had to hustle in my own way. I can’t tell you how frustrating it was that they didn’t get that. No joke – I’d leave meetings crying all the time.

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

If we could just find out who’s in charge, we could kill him.

President Obama seems completely unaware of how many of the policies he is trying to impose have been tried before, in many times and places around the world, and have failed time and again.

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I, therefore, intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt.

I can make more generals, but horses cost money.

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

One of my direct subordinates, one of my guys that worked for me, he would call me up or pull me aside with some major problem, some issue that was going on. And he’d say, ‚Boss, we’ve got this, and that, and the other thing.‘ And I’d look at him and I’d say, ‚Good.‘

The time comes upon every public man when it is best for him to keep his lips closed.

I’ve done a number of Super Bowl ads. And that is the best advertising of the year. That is when people realize they’re going to be compared directly against other ads.

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.

Our chief justices have probably had more profound and lasting influence on their times and on the direction of the nation than most presidents.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.

My dear sisters, whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, and your inspiration. We need you to speak up and speak out in ward and stake councils.

I’m responsible for starting a whole new school of pretension.

There’s no difference between one’s killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It’s exactly the same thing, or even worse.

It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own.

Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.

And now, of course this is another thing I didn’t count on, that now as the governor of the state of California, I am selling California worldwide. You see that? Selling.

Americans… still believe in an America where anything’s possible – they just don’t think their leaders do.

I once told Nixon that the Presidency is like being a jackass caught in a hail storm. You’ve got to just stand there and take it.

The people of the world genuinely want peace. Some day the leaders of the world are going to have to give in and give it to them.

As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me.

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

Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow. Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone.

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

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.

The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear.

The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.

No foreign policy – no matter how ingenious – has any chance of success if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none.

This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

In various countries and times, leaders of groups that lagged behind, economically and educationally, have taught their followers to blame all their problems on other people – and to hate those other people.

If you have 50 different plug types, appliances wouldn’t be available and would be very expensive. But once an electric outlet becomes standardized, many companies can design appliances, and competition ensues, creating variety and better prices for consumers.

History has proven that each generation of Howard graduates will forge the way forward for our country and our world.

If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you.

When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship.

First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change? Third, how do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.

I just think you ought to talk straight with your people.

When Hillary was First Lady, we went to the Beijing Women’s Conference. She courageously stood up and spoke out on behalf of human rights and women’s rights, inspiring millions to fight for a better future.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish – too much handling will spoil it.

My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility.

I always believe the rule by king or official leader is outdated. Now we must catch up with the modern world.