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Colin Powell
Quotes by Colin Powell
Quotes by Colin Powell
“A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”
Colin Powell
“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
Colin Powell
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
Colin Powell
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.”
Colin Powell
“Don't let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn't go with it.”
Colin Powell
“Get mad, then get over it.”
Colin Powell
“But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.”
Colin Powell
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”
Colin Powell
“Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.”
Colin Powell
“Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.”
Colin Powell
“I think whether you're having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.”
Colin Powell
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”
Colin Powell
“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
Colin Powell
“Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.”
Colin Powell
“Many interviewers when they come to talk to me, think they're being progressive by not mentioning in their stories any longer that I'm black. I tell them, 'Don't stop now. If I shot somebody you'd mention it.'”
Colin Powell
“Don't bother people for help without first trying to solve the problem yourself.”
Colin Powell
“The chief condition on which, life, health and vigor depend on, is action. It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny.”
Colin Powell
“Bad news isn't wine. It doesn't improve with age.”
Colin Powell
“Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.”
Colin Powell
“I respect the fact that many denominations have different points of view with respect to gay marriage and they can hold that in the sanctity in the place of their religion and not bless them or solemnize them.”
Colin Powell
“My own experience is use the tools that are out there. Use the digital world. But never lose sight of the need to reach out and talk to other people who don't share your view. Listen to them and see if you can find a way to compromise.”
Colin Powell
“You don't know what you can get away with until you try.”
Colin Powell
“Giving back involves a certain amount of giving up.”
Colin Powell
“It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.”
Colin Powell
“It isn't enough just to scream at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. We need our political system to start reflect this anger back into, 'How do we fix it? How do we get the economy going again?'”
Colin Powell
“90 percent of my time is spent on 10 percent of the world.”
Colin Powell
“Never neglect details. When everyone's mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.”
Colin Powell
“Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.”
Colin Powell
“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”
Colin Powell
“In other words, don't expect to always be great. Disappointments, failures and setbacks are a normal part of the lifecycle of a unit or a company and what the leader has to do is constantly be up and say 'we have a problem, let's go and get it'.”
Colin Powell
