1) Good leaders sometimes make people unhappy.
2) The day people stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They either have lost confidence that you can help them or have concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of a relationship.
3) Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed as soon as they are nicked by the real world.
4) Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard. Be practical and use common sense.
5) Never neglect detail. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted, the leader must be doubly vigilant.
6) You don’t know what you can get away with until you try. “Sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness instead of seeking permission.”
7) Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.
8) Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Attract the best people and you’ll accomplish great deeds.
9) Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.
10) Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.
11) Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.
12) Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
13) When picking people, look for intelligence, judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate; to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high-energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.
14) Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand. KISS
15) The person on the front line is always right and the rear echelon is always wrong, unless what the officer did is unethical, illegal, or immoral.
16) Have fun. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take time off and spend it with your family. Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves. Those who work hard should play hard.
17) It’s lonely at the top. (Harry S. Truman)
