Robert Reich Quotes

Leaders know the importance of having someone in their lives who will unfailingly and fearlessly tell them the truth.

I don't want people who just tell me what they think I want to hear, because that doesn't do me any good.

You need people around you who will tell you the truth and not hold anything back.

The best thing is to always keep honest people around, because when you have a bunch of yes men around that know that you're making a mistake but let you go on with it, that's when it ruins your mind state as an artist.

The best advice I ever got came from my mother, Estee Lauder: She believed that if you had something good to say, you should put it in writing. But if you had something bad to say, you should tell the person to his or her face.

The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't do it.

You know, my family and friends have never been yes-men: 'Yes, you're doing the right thing, you're always right.' No, they tell me when I'm wrong, and that's why I've been able to stay who I am and stay humble.

Too often, when you are close to people in power, you're trying to make them happy; you're trying to tell them what they want to hear. But I find that really good leaders don't want that. They want the truth. And you do them a service, and yourself a service, by just being honest and straightforward.

I always tell Brock Lesnar the truth. I don't appease Brock Lesnar. I don't placate Brock Lesnar. When Brock Lesnar asks me for an opinion, I give to him an honest opinion that I'm willing to back up with facts, with theory.

My closest friends are the ones who tell me that I'm being dumb or that I'm being wrong.

We have to lower our guard and know saying something's wrong isn't a bad thing.

When you are influential and highly respected, people tend to tell you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear. They are seeking your approval, or they flatter you. Unfortunately, this creates a gap between what you hear and reality. If you find yourself in that situation, you will need to work extra hard to get the people close to you to speak honestly into your life. And you will have to become highly intentional in observing and listening.

Often, loyalty means telling people things they don't want to hear. It's not being sycophantic, it's not telling them how wonderful they are every day. It's being willing to tell them the days they're not wonderful.

People who are most interested in telling the truth about others are generally the least interested in having the truth told about themselves.

I will make it a point to voice my opinions. But if I am at fault, I will also apologise.

It is important that it - sometimes there are clashes between team-mates. We need each other to tell the truth, and this is not always a positive.

Communication, that keeps everything cool. Not holding anything back, you got to tell each other what's on your mind, that's really it. Otherwise when one gets mad at one, it can burst and you just let it out and it can just come out wrong.

Where I agree with the president, I'll state that I agree with the president. Where I disagree, I'll state that I disagree.

If you know you've been out of order, then you must tell the truth.

It is difficult, but you need to be honest with yourself as an athlete, and have a team telling you the right things, being honest with you.

The biggest thing I worry about is the unsubstantiated story. You have to tell the people what you know -- and acknowledge what you don't know.

If it's in your control, why do you do it? If it's in someone else's control, then who are you blaming? Atoms? The gods? Stupid either way. Blame no one. Set people straight, if you can. If not, just repair the damage.

I'm always open, and will criticize myself, too. And I just think being that honest with everybody puts you in a different space than somebody who's just shooting venom at a certain group or a certain amount of individuals.

I think you need to have people around you who can remind you that, actually, what you just said makes no sense. Fortunately, I have my wife to do that continually.

Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about someone else. Then tell the truth about yourself to another. Then tell the truth about another to that other. Finally, tell the truth to everyone about everything. These are the Five Levels Of Truth Telling. This is the five-fold path to freedom.