Leon Panetta Quotes

I learned long ago on the battlefields of Vietnam that in a crisis, there is no substitute for clear-eyed leadership.

When I've heard all I need to make a decision, I don't take a vote. I make a decision.

Reagan did not suffer from the dismal plague of doubts which has assailed so many politicians in our times and which has rendered them incapable of clear decisions.

I think you either have to have a very strong decisive person at the top or else a really brilliant staff command.

Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the 'ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome'. You must be willing to fire.

We associate leadership with decisiveness. That perception of leadership pushes people to make decisions fairly quickly, lest they be seen as dithering and indecisive.

He's not a bold decision maker like Newt Gingrich is. Every time I talk to him, he says 'well let me think about it.'

It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.

One cannot govern with 'buts'.

Most of the good executives do pretty well. Because to be a good executive you have to be strong, and you have to have a simple attribute that people have forgotten about - courage.

Just as our peace-time system is unsuitable for war conditions, so does it tend to breed peace-time statesmen who are not too well fitted for the conduct of war. Facility in debate, ability to state a case, caution in advancing an unpopular view, compromise and procrastination are the natural qualities - I might almost say, virtues - of a political leader in time of peace. They are fatal qualities in war. Vision, daring, swiftness and consistency of decision are the very essence of victory.

President Obama is permanently ambivalent .

A real leader does not rely on consensus. He builds consensus.

A weak point of mine was maybe little resolve in governing and making decisions.

The mark of a bad leader is not to make the wrong decision. It is to make no decision at all.

When you lead, you have to lead from the front.

Great leaders are not proverbial fence sitters. They judge. They opine. They challenge. They fight for their vision.

Mediocre founders spend a lot of time talking about grand plans, but they never quite make a decision.

You have to be decisive. Indecisiveness is a startup killer.

The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions. Not me. I don't want to be a manager or a dictator. I want to be a leader-and leadership is ongoing, adjustable, flexible, and dynamic. As such, leaders have to maintain a certain amount of discretion

[George W. Bush] has balls. And he's a leader. Unfortunately his balls and leadership are in the service of shitty ideas. We need his balls on someone who thinks right.

The key to leadership is having a vision, and being strong enough to say no and not try to please everybody. Thats a recipe for failure. Leadership is practiced through attitude and actions, rather than words and memos.

Nothing that matters in this world happens unless leaders lead it.

The strength of any organization is a direct result of the strength of its leaders.

Strong leaders equal strong organizations.