H. R. McMaster Quotes

When I joined the Marines, I went to Quantico for training. One of the first things I learned is that you can drop out of a run, a couple runs. You can fail the test or a couple tests in a row, and they'd give you a second try. But if you lied about anything, you were gone that afternoon. That's how important integrity is in the military.

In matters of business deal only with the commander of the army, column, or party in which you serve. Never give orders to anyone at all, and reserve your directions or advice for the C.O., however great the temptation (for efficiency’s sake).

In the military you do not get points for creativity. You get points for obedience.

In the Marine Corps, everything had a purpose.

But if you're going to go out on a military unit, you've got to allow yourself to be under the control of the commander because you really could put the troops in danger.

If you're a coach, and you don't have trust with players, you've got no chance, and your credibility is zero. And that's why it's so important to tell them the truth. If you have something that you're upset about, tell them the truth. If they're doing something wrong, tell them the truth.

Responsibility and accountability is a big part of being in the military.

Goddammit, he looks like a loser to me …. When I had an officer like that in World War II, I relieved him.

I guess it's from going to Virginia Military Institute. I'm a good person to follow orders.

You need to set a tone at the top that inspires trust - and encourages open and honest 2-way communication. So you hear the brutal facts, and you listen to the good news and the bad news - so that, in the spirit of continuous improvement, you can make changes.

I often ask people what I did wrong in the last meeting, because then others feel they have permission to own their mistakes, too.

I am not one of these guys that looks to the locker room and points fingers. That has never been my MO.

The best kind of accountability on a team is peer-to-peer. Peer pressure is more efficient and effective than going to the leader, anonymously complaining, and having them stop what they are doing to intervene.

On the aircraft carrier under my command, where the average age of sailors was 19 and a half, you could see accountability in action at all times. You especially saw it when an order was given that a plane about to launch suddenly must be switched out for another and kept on board.

There are a lot of self-imposed restrictions by people who somehow believe they have to fall in with a certain military cant. There was always a sense that we had to put things into words that would touch our troops' hearts, not just their heads.

I try and relate my writing to something I know about, and I had a primary experience of being in a competitive, military environment and being part of a squadron.

The organization reflects the behavior and characteristics of the CEO, and that establishes the culture. Foster an environment of open communication, and the organization inherits a culture of open communication.

Something as simple as transparency is really scalable because it quickly impacts the culture. And the culture is something everyone feels. If upper management is really transparent with everyone, that has this amplifying effect. Then you tend to attract players who operate that way, on the same wavelength, and coaches and fans.

As a top manager, you have to not just reward truth-telling, you've got to beg for it, and you've got to demand that everyone around you gives you constructive criticism, constantly. You've got to get out of the bubble, so that you can get direct feedback from everybody who's being affected.

It's not my job to rate managers. My focus is on me and my team.

Being a person of the armed forces is not easy. Performing it is also not easy. There is a sense of discipline and body language that you need to have throughout.

You can't keep losing and say nothing in the dressing room.

I really appreciate working with Skip and Stephen A. and value their opinions. There's definitely been growing pains, but I know they have my best interests at heart. Sometimes I make mistakes, and they tell me, but it's tough love, and I want to hear it, and we have natural chemistry on and off the air.

I'm only a player; I only do what my coach says.

I can sit across the table from somebody that worked with me and my company that I founded and say, 'Here are five things I don't like about what you're doing, and we have to fix it.'