Quotes About Leadership

la ingeniosa frase de Winston Churchill— «lo único que vas a hacer es remover escombros».

What Frederick shared with Napoleon—and what later theorists celebrated in both—was the ability to create strength on the battlefield, even without an overall numerical advantage, and direct it against an enemy's vulnerabilities.

el ejército jominiano era un grupo de hombres convertidos en instrumentos de la voluntad del general a fuerza de disciplina e instrucción.

La maniobra que trae a un aliado al campo de batalla es tan útil como la que permite ganar una gran batalla. La maniobra que consigue obtener un importante punto estratégico puede ser menos valiosa que aquella que apacigua o desactiva a un tercero peligroso y aparentemente neutral. Winston Churchill, La crisis mundial

Clausewitz was wary of the general who tried to be too smart. He preferred those who kept their imaginations in check and a firm grip on the harsh realities of battle.

The state's authority would come from one of three sources: tradition, bureaucracy, or charisma.

RAND Corporation,

If, as Napoleon put it, the moral was superior to the physical by three to one, the genius was more important than the normal by ten to one.

David Barry and Michael Elmes consider strategy, "one of the most prominent, influential and costly stories told in organizations.

It is the art of creating power.

Von Moltke saw the tactical task as conceptually simple—destroying as much of the enemy force as possible—but practically challenging, which was why his preparations for battle were meticulous. Once battle was done strategy came back into play.

Von Moltke's most radical innovation as a commander, which went against the textbooks of the time, was to divide his army so that both parts could be kept supplied until they would combine for the battle ("march divided; strike united").

Who says organization, says oligarchy." This was Michels's "iron law.

Greatness lies in persuading others to work for good.

So I can only conclude that American democracy inherently does not want good leadership. We always passed over the very great men we had like Daniel Webster, John Calhoun, Henry Clay, John Fremont, and the people after the Civil War like Carl Shurz. We pass them up because we don't want first-class men in that position, we want somebody who is a stupid bum like us. We're afraid of good leadership until a time of crisis

The amount of communal participation in prayer is in inverse ratio to the combined vertical and horizontal distance between the leader of the prayers and the first occupied row of seats.

They can sell at that price—and go broke and you can, too! If you base your price on your competitor's price—and they are going broke—you will, too. Typically, someone among your competition is going broke and usually is cutting prices on the way out. Owen Young, who is credited with having built General Electric, once said, "It's not the crook we fear in modern business; rather it's the honest guy who doesn't know what he is doing.

When government disappears, it's not as if paradise will take its place. When governments are gone, other interests will take their place.

Going to an investor every month for money was unusual, and probably not much fun, judging from my knowledge of investors in companies that were running out of cash. Ed shifted just a bit in his chair and added, "It's not an easy conversation to have with Steve.

Canada has the best farmers and food processors in the world. We are a global leader in agricultural production, and the sector is of great importance to our economy, our trade and our jobs. This is why the Government of Canada has targeted agri-food as key to Canada's path to prosperity, and to helping strengthen the middle class."

Harper] once told a friend, "I think about strategy twenty-four hours a day," and it was only a small exaggeration.

The conservatives had started bringing demagoguery to the table on the [Afghan] war issue the previous fall [fall 2006]. Whenever opposition members criticized the war policy, assorted Tories accused them of being disloyal and of failing to support the troops....[Harper] was gaining the reputation of a leader who couldn't see a belt without wanting to hit below it.

Stephen] Harper had said he would use all legal means, and what [John] Baird suggested was an option the prome minister was considering. If the governor general had refused his request, he could have replaced her with a more compliant one, making the case to the Queen that the people of Canada were opposed in great numbers to a coalition replacing his government.

After I squirmed into the snakepit of national politics, I realized that a ruler must equate the unpredictable with the unreliable. The future was too important to leave to whim.