Thus Sayest Gen. Collin Powell with my Commentaries

Over the Christmas break, I was reading a newspaper article which passively made mention of Gen. Collin Powell, the former US Secretary of State. I instantly decided to do article on this great African American leader. The result is this article. I collected some of the most powerful quotes by Gen. Powell and added my personal commentary to each of them. I hope you find them helpful.

Mr. Powell’s words are in bold italics followed by mine.

• Quote 1.  “Command is lonely.” Being at the top is not always as fun as it seem. I can really be lonely at the top.

• Quote 2. “The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.” In simple terms, we’ve got to realize that the folks close to the problems are often in the best position to see the solutions.  The leader’s roles should be the empowering of the people to see their own solutions.

• Quote 3. “Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.” A leader must take a stance and make the tough call. Trying to make everybody happy is not leadership because the right decisions aren’t always the popular ones.

• Quote 4. “Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.” Challenge the status quo. You have every right to do that. Question the conventional wisdom and ask why not the other way.

• Quote 5. “Keep looking below surface appearances.  Don’t shrink from doing so just because you might not like what you find.” The problem won’t solve itself. Assuming it doesn’t exist won’t get rid of it. You’ve got to face it as it today or you’ll have to face it tomorrow. The details may be terrifying and even hurt, but don’t burry it in the sand.

• Quote 6. “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.  Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.” At the end of it all, you have to bet on people, not strategies or plans.  Value the people around you as the best asserts, not the PowerPoint slides and bulleted points.

• Quote 7.  “Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.” It’s all about accomplishments or results to show. Titles don’t count much.

• Quote 8.  “Fit no stereotypes.  Don’t chase the latest management fads. Employ the right tools and principles for the job, and don’t be rigid in your approach.   If you are not getting the results you need, change the approach.

• Quote 9. “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” Surround yourself with people who think the world will crash tomorrow and friends who never see any possibility.  That’s exactly how you will also think and you won’t accomplish anything

• Quote 10. “Never let your ego gets so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.” Don’t see yourself as your title or position and don’t get too caught up in it.

• Quote 11. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.” As Tunde said, why not use electricity instead of megawatt if your people will understand electricity and not the other? A leader’s role is to communicate to get everybody on the same page.

• Quote 12. “Have fun in your command.  Don’t always run at a breakneck pace.  Take leave when you’ve earned it: Spend time with your families.  There is life after everything. Love to live. Do not shun your human side.  Enjoy every opportunity you get and value human relationships.

• Quote 13. “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. If people aren’t bringing their problems to you any longer, do not assume they do not have problems. It’s likely they have lost confidence in your ability to help them solve their problems.

• Quote 14. “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. What appears to be the right theory does not always end up being the one that works in practice. Respect the opinion of others but at the end of it all, pay attention to your own instincts, and judgments.

• Quote 15. You can’t just have slogans; you can’t just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda. Slogans and catchy phrases don’t produce the results. You need specific, measurable, achievable, time-based goals.

• Bonus. “You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.”