Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

I'm always good at seeing five, ten steps ahead. Like, really thinking ahead, you know? Reverse engineering, whatever it is, you know.

At a very young age I was predicting outcomes, trying to take all the information and find the best route to wherever I was going. I avoided a lot of pitfalls because of that.

Sometimes I do have something in my head. But, for me, I think it usually ends up being about considering all of the elements, and trying to understand the distance from where we are to where we want to go.

I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.

I must analyze, from what I do now, what will be the impact two or three or five years in the future. What is the statement I want to make?

I have had my results for a long time: but I do not yet know how I am to arrive at them.

Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions.

Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions.

As a chess player I learn to adapt to new situations and always try to make the best move without looking back or asking why and how I ended up in a situation I ended up in.

We are on the right track to the 21st century. We are on the right track, but our work is not finished. What should we do? First, let us consider how to proceed. I say the question is no longer, "Who's to blame?" but "What to do?"

I'm a problem-solver.

Even for practical purposes theory generally turns out the most important thing in the end.

I want to make smart choices.

One of the primary reasons why the human brain has evolved to look so far into the future is so that we can take actions in the present that will bring us to a better future rather than a worse one.

Good politics starts with empathy, proceeds to analysis, then sets out values and establishes the vision, before getting to the nitty-gritty of policy solutions.

I look three to five years ahead, not 10 years behind.

Think as you work, for in the final analysis, your worth to your company comes not only in solving problems, but also in anticipating them.

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.

Effective management always means asking the right question.

I also believe that it is time to begin the fundamental analysis of how we got here, what led us here and what we need to do in order to ensure that we are equipped with the best possible intelligence as we face these issues in the future.

'How' is a great thing to know. 'Why' is the ultimate. I'm the 'why' coach. Why are we doing this? Why are we not doing that? Why is this not working? Those are the things I want to know.

But I don't think I have any particular talent for prediction, because when you have three or four elements in hand, you don't have to be a genius to reach certain conclusions.

It must be able to assist in devising the method of solution of problems and not merely solve them.

Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.

There is no single right answer or path forward, but there is one right way to frame the problem.