Ngo Dinh Diem Quotes

I have not had the cabinet here for 6 weeks. I can run the government better without them.

Ministers do not function well when they are unsure of their authority or of their standing with the Leader [ the Prime Minister]

Get a good team and do what you think is right.

Not only capacity and talent in the administration, but also a perfect heartfelt cordiality among its members are essentially necessary to command the public confidence.

Presidents ... become hermits only at their peril. Running the executive branch is now a team sport. It is operated best by politicians who thrive on command, possess a fine and sure touch for the levers of power and enjoy the company of those who serve them.

If you can't get along with the head of the government with which you are working, you won't get anything done—nothing!

A minister of state is excusable for the harm he does when the helm of government has forced his hand in a storm; but in the calm he is guilty of all the good he does not do.

It was a stroke of luck that there were about four to six leaders in power in the mid-'80s who really trusted one another and could really make things happen.

It's very interesting how Washington works. It's not about speeches. It's about relationships.

In city hall and in local government, you have to get things done without drama.

You [as a president] have to have a strong team around you. You have to have respect for institutions and the process to make good decisions because you are inherently reliant on other folks.

Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent.

The Way of an enlightened ruler is to make it so that no minister may make a proposal and then fail to match it with actions and results.

Over the years, from serving in the CIA to sitting on non-profit boards, I have observed first-hand what the addition of even one woman to a meeting or to a decision-making body can do. Put simply, in very many instances, group dynamics improve markedly.

In the time I've spent in public life, one of the things I've learned is that some issues look a lot different when you're actually in office compared to when you're on the campaign trail.

I didn't have any idea what politics was like. I was surprised at how difficult it is to get something done. In the private world, if I have an idea, I just do it.

As president, you can't just say, 'I want this,' or, 'Do that.' A president has to lead the American people to where he wants to go, and the chief of staff needs to help him get it done.

The partnerships between Schmidt and Giscard, Kohl and Mitterrand, and even between Chirac and Schroeder, have proved that political differences do not mean that we cannot work together.

Those who were closest to Yeltsin behaved as if they were running the government.

When in doubt, you bring in relatives. Nepotism is a part of my work.

Given my earlier experience as the longest served CM of the erstwhile undivided A.P., I focused on choosing right people in the right place with clear priorities in the departments that were vital to attract large-scale investments into the state.

It often takes time for the Israeli government to get things done.

Prime Minister Abe's top-level relation-building is tremendous. I can't do the same.

Taking power is fine. But what do you do when you are in power?

The execution of strategy is over to the captain and coach, as it always has been. It's the right way to go. We need clear role allocations, the coach and the captain go and execute and my job is to plan for the future.