William S. Cohen Quotes

Every one, more or less, loves Power, yet those who most wish for it are seldom the fittest to be trusted with it.

In order to be respected, authority has got to be respectable.

The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.

Authority must be respected and chosen wisely.

All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.

Character in leadership is the most important balance for leadership. Without character, leaders have no safety. Leadership has no protection without character.

The American people do not begrudge anyone his or her power until they start abusing it.

Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent.

I'm eternally grateful to fate and the citizens of Russia that they've trusted me to be the head of the Russian government.

You have to enable and empower people to make decisions independent of you. As I've learned, each person on a team is an extension of your leadership; if they feel empowered by you they will magnify your power to lead.

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.

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.

One thing I hope I'll never be is drunk with my own power. And anybody who says I am will never work in this town again.

I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?

But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go.

Responsibility walks hand in hand with capacity and power.

Something goes wrong, I yell at them -'Fix it'- whether it's their fault or not. You can only really yell at the players you trust.

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

As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.

All political power is a trust.

Leadership is something you earn, something you're chosen for. You can't come in yelling, 'I'm your leader!' If it happens, it's because the other guys respect you.

The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.

I believe in delegating power.

The Emperor was responsible for the war.

Those who have more power are liable to sin more; no theorem in geometry is more certain than this.