Colin Powell Quotes

“We are not going to dwell on those things that divide us. We are going to rejoice in those things that keep us together to make this a better country - to reach down and back to touch every young person in need!”

“Experts often possess more data than judgment.”

“Sometimes what my analytical mind says to me is not what I'll do.”

“Trust is the glue that holds an org together & the lubricant that moves it forward.”

“The great leaders that I have worked with are people who have a good sense of empathy with other people. They can walk a factory floor, or walk through a battalion and smell if there's something wrong.”

“Being kind doesn't mean being soft or a wuss. Kindness is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of confidence. If you have developed a reputation for kindness and consideration, then even the most unpleasant decisions will go down easier because everyone will understand why you are doing what you are doing. They will realize that your decision must be necessary, and is not arbitrary or without empathy. As the old saying puts it, 'To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.'”

“When you wrestle with a pig, he has fun, and you just end up dirty.”

“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 to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.”

“The troops may whine and moan, but when they meet the standard, there's a sense of pride.”

“Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president?”

“Decision-making is lonely.”

“Leaders honor their core values, but they are flexible in how they execute them.”

“I went to graduate school as a lieutenant colonel after I had been in the army for 12 or 13 years. I learned so much from all the great management theorists. It gave me a greater understanding of my army experience and showed me the gaps in my knowledge.”

“Be careful what you choose: You may get it.”

“Yup, the whole birther movement was racist.”

“In terms of the legal matter of creating a contract between two people that's called marriage, and allowing them to live together with the protection of law, it seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country.”

“I have seen many organizations where there is this sense of purpose in the headquarters but it never gets cascaded down to everybody within the organization.”

“We can seldom get our children to do what we tell them, but they almost never fail to imitate us.”

“Trust is the essence of Leadership.”

“If a leader doesn't convey passion and intensity then there will be no passion and intensity within the organization and they'll start to fall down and get depressed.”

“Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”

“I don't know who all of his advisers are, but I've seen some of the names and some of them are quite far to the right. And sometimes they might be in a position to make judgments or recommendations to the candidate that should get a second thought.”

“We are not trapped in what the science of management says we can do. We are capable of doing what the art of leadership says is possible.”

“What you’re seeing with Occupy Wall Street and the others are people who are unhappy and they’re directing their unhappiness now toward Wall Street and toward those they think are doing too well in our society.”

“When Jerry Springer thinks you've gone too far, my friends, you have gone too far.”