“No president is well-served by groupthink or by everybody singing from the same sheet of music they think he's on.” ThinkingWellsPresidentSingingSheetsGroupthink Author:Robert M. Gates
“One of my favorite little sayings is, 'To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” LittlesCriticismMy Favorite Author:Robert M. Gates
“The United States has been a global power since late in the 19th century.” Has BeensStatesUnitedUnited StatesCenturyLate19th Century Author:Robert M. Gates
“There's a lot of books out there about how you lead change in business, but I've certainly not seen any... on how you do that in public institutions.” BookInstitutions Author:Robert M. Gates
“Well, I've ruffled a few feathers at all the institutions I've led. But I think that's part of leadership.” ThinkingWellsInstitutionsFeathers Author:Robert M. Gates
“I mean, when you get down to very low numbers of nuclear weapons, and you contemplate going to zero, how do you deal with the reality of that technology being available to almost any country that seeks to pursue it? And what conditions do you put in place?” MeanCountryRealityDealsNumbersTechnologyConditionsWeaponsLowsAvailableNuclearPursueZeroContemplatingNuclear Weapons Author:Robert M. Gates
“I've been very sensitive for a long time to the repeated pattern, during economic hard times or after a war, of the United States' essentially unilaterally disarming.” LongWarHardStatesUnitedUnited StatesEconomicLong TimePatternsSensitiveHard TimesDisarming Author:Robert M. Gates
“I've seen, all too often in my career, people coming in to lead agencies and organizations and trying to impose change from the top down. Never works. You never have enough time.” PeopleTryingEnoughCareersOrganizationAgencyEnough TimeTop Down Author:Robert M. Gates
“I've spent my entire adult life with the United States as a superpower and one that had no compunction about spending what it took to sustain that position. And it didn't have to look over its shoulder because our economy was so strong.” LooksStatesStrongUnitedUnited StatesEconomyPositionAdultsSpendingShouldersOver ItSuperpowerCompunction Author:Robert M. Gates