William Frenzel Quotes

The best … Committees consist of three persons, two of whom are always absent!

When men organize themselves into groups, and they make rules based on common or self-interest, it's always tangled and political.

Look, not everybody plays well with each other on the playground. I get that, that's politics.

As a member of Congress, I'm often reminded that in baseball, as in diplomacy, you have to know when to hit, when to run, and when to show grace.

I worked with a group of people who argued day and night - professors, officials, the Minister of Finance - but there were decisions that I had to make.

Anytime you get nine people together, whether it's at a party or it's in the conference room of the Supreme Court, you do have to maintain some order, or it does kind of degenerate into squabbling pretty quickly.

A committee is an animal with four back legs.

I cannot consult with 535 strong willed individuals.

Having three kids at home is sometimes like dealing with Democrats and Republicans when you're choosing a restaurant.

I've always been a collaborator. For me, it's, 'What's the issue I'm trying to solve? Who are the people we need to bring around the table to solve it?'

On great teams - the kind where people trust each other, engage in open conflict, and then commit to decisions - team members have the courage and confidence to confront one another when they see something that isn't serving the team.

Those who can do. Those who can't form a supercommittee.

A committee of three gets things done if two dont show up.

In Washington, as we learned from the White House transcripts, a president may speak of kicking butts, call a problem a can of worms, decide not to be in the position of basically hunkering down, anticipate something hitting the fan, propose to tough it through, sight minefields down the road, see somebody playing hard ball, claim political savvy, and wonder what stroke some of his associates have with others.

A minor symptom of wars is the cancerous growth of committees.

Climbing has worked for me in a number of ways on Capitol Hill. I'm much more inclined to look at what people do, as opposed to what they say. Also, it's about working together - we're all on the rope together, and you don't get to cut the rope if you're not getting along with someone.

I haven't had vast amounts of ministerial experience - in fact, none at all. But I do have a lot of experience of people.

Teams are often pretty clear about what they can do or are willing to do.

A boardroom is a collection of individuals, and individuals have varying motives, egos, agendas and qualifications. Sometimes the dynamics can go off track.

Consensus building doesn't necessarily fit with my experience.

I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn't. Hey, it made me a better leader: you have to take a lot of people's needs into account; you have to look down the road. Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy.

We have the means and the capacity to deal with our problems, if only we can find the political will.

Discussion is just a tool. You have to aim; the final goal must be a decision.

Peace congresses often start by dealing with some of the less important questions in excessive detail, so at the end there is no time to discuss the most important problems.

When topics are complex and meaty, don't create a never-ending email thread. It's amazing how much time people waste composing and reading carefully-worded essays, when a 5 minute in-person chat would resolve the whole thing.