Colin Powell quotes are tough minded and reveal a depth of wisdom few leaders posses.
Colin Powel was formerly the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff and served in that position during the first Gulf War in 1991.
He went on to serve as Secretary Of State under George W. Bush from 2000 - 2005. Powel has had a distinguished career as both a soldier and a civilian and has some incredible yet down to earth insights on leadership.
His quotes are below:
"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them."
"There are no secrets to success: Don't waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence."
"Don't let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn't go with it."
"Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission."
"Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't shrink from doing so just because you might not like what you find."
"The chief condition on which, life, health and vigor depend on, is action. It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny."
"Never neglect details. When everyone's mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant."
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it' is the slogan of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared. It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms."
"Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce haemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world."
"You don't know what you can get away with until you try."
