John Lehman Quotes

Cabinet Secretaries often have no control over their own agencies.

Nobody is going to delegate a lot of power to a secretary that they can't control.

Governance is a way of organizing, amplifying, and constraining power.

Those who enjoy responsibility usually get it; those who merely like exercising authority usually lose it.

Certainly I shall not be one of those who, having gained power, do not wish to use it.

The person who manages the state is me.

Washington has political power combined with the insider illusion of being in control.

Leadership is important in politics.

I am better when I have control. I am not a power freak. But my point is that I need to feel that I can manage the team and have a direct, clear line through to the owners. Once that becomes hazy, for me, there is a problem.

To rule is easy, to govern difficult.

Power should be reserved for weightlifting and boats, and leadership really involves responsibility.

Who is in charge? Is it taxpayers or is it the special interest groups?

Politics and power is a realm of relative influence.

Leadership is influence.

All leaders share something in common. They feel they are the only ones who can do the job.

Being a leader doesn't mean you are the guy who runs things.

The number one way of becoming powerful in Washington is by becoming the 'Washington Post.'

I like control.

The great irony of management is that the higher up you go, the less actual control you have. When you are but a humble coder, you make the computer do exactly what you want; when you're a manager, you only hope that people understand what you want, and then trust/pray that they do it both correctly and in a timely manner.

Power has to be insecure to be responsive.

In politics, as in business, leadership is crucial.

To be honest, the fact that people trust you gives you a lot of power over people. Having another person's trust is more powerful than all other management techniques put together.

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.

Politicians love regulating. That's part of the whole power structure.

I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn't very good at being a president. I looked out of the window and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually seemed to have more control over what he was doing.