Quotes About Leadership

He couldn't go into his army's barracks -- he had long since learned that the best commanders stay away unless they have some reason to visit. The boys have to have a chance to be at peace, at rest, without someone listening, to favor or despise them depending on the way they talk, and act, and think.

No army had ever fragmented itself like that before, but ender was not planning to do anything that had been done before, either.

Achilles acted as if he had already won, and because the other kids followed him, he had.

So that's it? asked the expendable. Final decision, said Ram. And it's the right one. Why do you think so? Because we live or die, we'll learn something important from jumping into the fold. Thousands of future travelers will either follow us or not. But if we don't make the jump, we'll learn nothing, have no new options. A lovely speech. It has been sent back to Earth. It will inspire millions. Shut up, said Ram.

Because these fools always look up for power. People above you, they never want to share power with you. Why you look to them? They give you nothing. People below you, you give them hope, you give them respect, they give you power, cause they don't think they have any, so they don't mind giving it up.

You don't know who a person is until you see how he acts when given unexpected power. He hasn't rehearsed for the part. So what you see is what he is.

Once you realize that power will always end up with the sort of people who crave it, I think that there are worse people who could have it than Peter.

Ender's anger was cold, and he could use it. Bonzo's was hot, and so it used him.

Just one more example of why a commander who ruled by fear and made all the decisions himself would always be beaten, sooner or later.

What about this? A colony of nothing but Battle School grads. If they bred true, they'd be the smartest military minds in the galaxy. Then they'd come home and take over Earth. OK, not that.

The loneliness of power.

Ender Wiggin isn't a killer. He just wins—thoroughly. If anybody's going to be scared, let it be the buggers." "Makes you almost feel sorry for them, knowing Ender's going to be coming after them.

the cruelest, narrowest, most evil people will always rise to power because they'll always be the ones most willing to wrap themselves in the crescent flag and murder people in God's name.

I don't care how loyal you think you're going to be Dink. It's not in you. You're a brat and you always will be. So admit what a lousy follower you are and go ahead and LEAD. -Petra

You accomplish exactly as much as the people who serve you decide you'll accomplish, and nothing more.

If pigs could vote, the man with the slop bucket would be elected swineherd every time, no matter how much slaughtering he did on the side. 

There are so many powerful people in this world who refuse to see any vision they didn't think of.

We're going to make him the best military commander in history. And then put the fate of the world on his shoulders.

How did I become the one to make this decision for everyone?

Is it some law of human nature that you inevitably become whatever your first commander was? I can quit right now, if that's so.

One of Ender's toonmates shook his head. "You dumb as a thumb.

These other armies, they aren't the enemy. It's the teachers, they're the enemy.

An interesting side effect of the battle was that Ender emerged at the top of the soldier efficiency list. Since he hadn't fired a shot, he had a perfect record on shooting—no misses at all. And since he had never been eliminated or disabled, his percentage there was excellent. No one else came close. It made a lot of boys laugh, and others were angry, but on the prized efficiency list, Ender was now the leader.

The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.