Colin Powell Quotes - Page 2

Quotes about:

• All children need a laptop. Not a computer, but a human laptop. Moms, Dads, Grannies and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles - someone to hold them, read to them, teach them. Loved ones who will embrace them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous generations. Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams.

  Colin Powell

  Love, Mom, Dream

  136 Copy quote

• 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.'

  Colin Powell

  Kindness, Mean, Empathy

  79 Copy quote

• Respect for leaders by followers can't be mandated; it must be earned. It has to be given to leaders by their followers.

  Colin Powell

  Leader, Followers, Given

  121 Copy quote

• You can never err by treating everyone in the building with respect, thoughtfulness, and a kind word. Everyone of our employees is an essential employee. Every one of them wants to be viewed that way. And if you treat them that way, they will view you that way. They will not let you down or let you fail. They will accomplish whatever you have put in front of them.

  Colin Powell

  Views, Essentials, Want

  18 Copy quote

• Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

  Colin Powell

  Motivational, Leadership, Mean

  Colin L. Powell, Joseph E. Persico (2010). “My American Journey”, p.85, Ballantine Books

  100 Copy quote

• Don't just count your days, make your days count.

  Colin Powell

  43 Copy quote

• Every organization needs to be introspective, transparent, and honest with itself. This only works if everyone is unified on the goals and purposes of the organization and there is trust within the team. High-performing, successful organizations build cultures of introspection and trust and never lose sight of their purpose.

  Colin Powell

  Team, Successful, Sight

  281 Copy quote

• We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing for and sharing with each other ... We cannot move forward if cynics and critics swoop down and pick apart anything that goes wrong, to a point where we lose sight of what is right, decent and uniquely good about America.

  Colin Powell

  Hurt, Moving, Sacrifice

  209 Copy quote

• 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.

  Colin Powell

  Military, Patriotic, Fighting

  130 Copy quote

• Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.

  Colin Powell

  Leadership, Errors, Trial And Error

  239 Copy quote

• Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

  Colin Powell

  Inspirational, Military, Work

  94 Copy quote
• 

  Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

  Colin Powell

  Inspirational, Positive, Inspiring

  Colin L. Powell (1995). “My American Journey”, Random House Incorporated

  65 Copy quote

• One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognize and to develop talent in others.

  Colin Powell

  Talent

  85 Copy quote

• A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the
  kind of friends he chooses.

  Colin Powell

  Men, Mirrors, Company You Keep

  91 Copy quote

• 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.

  Colin Powell

  Motivational, Organization, People

  Colin L. Powell, Joseph E. Persico (2010). “My American Journey”, p.172, Ballantine Books

  109 Copy quote

• Give me the right people and I don’t much care what organization you give me. Good things will happen. Give me the wrong people and it doesn’t matter what you do with the organization. Bad things will happen.

  Colin Powell

  Organization, People, Giving

  57 Copy quote
• 

  Get mad, then get over it.

  Colin Powell

  Life, Moving On, Wise

  Colin Powell (2012). “It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership”, p.9, Harper Collins

  112 Copy quote

• 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.

  Colin Powell

  Real, Exercise, Data

  Colin L. Powell, Joseph E. Persico (2010). “My American Journey”, p.102, Ballantine Books

  58 Copy quote

• Maybe we don't put our young people in situations often enough where they're allowed to fail. When you fail you gain experience, and with enough experience, you don't fail as often.

  Colin Powell

  Inspiring, People, Gains

  48 Copy quote

• The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise. In my experience, the people closest to the problems are often in the best position to see the solutions. The key here is to empower and not be the bottleneck.

  Colin Powell

  Keys, People, Empowering

  50 Copy quote

• Always be looking for that which you do well and that which you love doing, and when you find those two things together — man, you got it.

  Colin Powell

  Motivation, Inspiration, Men

  86 Copy quote

• If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.

  Colin Powell

  Dirty, Sticks, Tools

  Colin L. Powell (1995). “My American Journey”, Random House Incorporated

  22 Copy quote

• 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.

  Colin Powell

  Fall, Passion, Organization

  66 Copy quote

• You know you're a good leader when people follow you out of curiosity.

  Colin Powell

  Leadership, People, Curiosity

  50 Copy quote

• The freedom to do your best means nothing unless you are willing to do your best.

  Colin Powell

  Inspirational, Success, Uplifting

  29 Copy quote

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