Donald Rumsfeld quotes

Born
July 9, 1932, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Died
June 29, 2021.

Occupation
Politician, businessman.

Donald Rumsfeld was an American politician and businessman.

It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t blame the boss. He has enough problems.
– Donald Rumsfeld

With the press there is no ‘off the record.’
– Donald Rumsfeld

Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers – they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
– Donald Rumsfeld

If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t divide the world into ‘them’ and ‘us.’ Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours.
– Donald Rumsfeld

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
– Donald Rumsfeld

The way to do well is to do well.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Make decisions about the President’s personal security. He can overrule you, but don’t ask him to be the one to counsel caution.
– Donald Rumsfeld

If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Think ahead. Don’t let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t walk in their shoes.
– Donald Rumsfeld

See that the President, the Cabinet and staff are informed. If cut out of the information flow, their decisions may be poor, not made, or not confidently or persuasively implemented.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
– Donald Rumsfeld

If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.
– Donald Rumsfeld

If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
– Donald Rumsfeld

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
– Donald Rumsfeld