Ray Nagin Quotes

In order to have your short term policies accepted, you have to have your long term policies understood.

Doctrines don't govern policy. They provide a conceptual framework by which policymakers approach their decisions. But there is no such thing as a doctrine that controls policy in every way.

Leadership requires the courage to make decisions that will benefit the next generation.

Never forget posterity when devising a policy. Never think of posterity when making a speech.

Short-term thinking is the greatest enemy of good government.

We're so used to thinking in the short term, and the minute you speak in more long-term language then you tend to get dismissed as utopian and so on. We have a real problem here in making long-term thinking respectable

I think long-term, not short-term.

When Dad made a decision, whether it was about family or his own career, the majority of the time, it was for the long term, not the short term.

My experience in government is there is a whole host of unintended consequences you have to think through. I can't un-know that, I find it harder now to offer simple solutions.

I understand that fans think short-term, and there's nothing wrong with that. You live or you die in the short term. But I believe in our system, and when you do that, you don't make knee-jerk decisions.

One of many strengths that I often see in successful women on Wall Street is a responsible balance between risk taking and risk mitigation - the ability to assess situations smartly and make the right medium-to-long-term decisions without being lured into reckless, short-term profit-taking.

Clearly [Donald] Trump likes the way business executives and generals think and talk much more than policy professionals.

We have zero strategic thinking out of our White House. And we have a national security structure that has lost its way when it comes to strategic thinking and strategic decision-making.

Strategy is about shaping the future.

Long-term planning is often undervalued by our indefinite short-term world.

The great task of statesmanship is to apply past lessons to new situations, to draw correct analogies to understand and act upon present forces, to recognise the need for change.

If it's a principle, it's a winner. If it's a tactic, it's a loser.

I am a person who looks long-term, and I recognize the path we need to take. There will be moments when people are unhappy and disgruntled with some decision-making. Nonetheless, what matters most is to reach the destination. And my job as President is to see clearly where I want to go and be steadfast in my resolve to realize that vision

In the book [Today Matters] I talk about successful people make important decisions early in their life, and then they manage those decisions the rest of their life.

You politicians have got to look further ahead; you always got a Putter in your hands, when you ought to have a Driver.

Buffett’s genius was largely a genius of character—of patience, discipline, and rationality.

Two types of choices seem to me to have been crucial in tipping the outcomes [of the various societies' histories] towards success or failure: long-term planning and willingness to reconsider core values. On reflection we can also recognize the crucial role of these same two choices for the outcomes of our individual lives.

Life is amazingly unpredictable; any 22-year-old who thinks they know where they will be in 10 years, much less in 30, is simply lacking imagination.

Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.

Every plausible policy must be followed by the question 'And then what?'