Albert S. Ruddy Quotes

In every place there are 100 people who can say no and only one person who can say yes. You have to get a good piece of material to the right person.

You can muscle your way to the top as long as you're part of the production, which I am. I'm knitted into the money, so it's very hard to extricate me from the decision-making dynamic.

Turning Intellect Into Influence

I can pretty much call anyone, whether at the White House, in a company or in the media. I have access, because of the silliness of the entertainment world and how people react to it. It gave me an enormous opportunity to do anything I really want to.

I like people. That's me. I like people on the street, and I also happen to like other people who have power. But I'll go to a party and realise I haven't spoken to anybody who can do anything for me.

America's best buy is a telephone call to the right man.

Think of your existing power as the exponent in an equation that determines the value of information. The more power you have, the more additional power you derive from the new data.

Power gravitates to the man who knows how.

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.

In politics, as in business, leadership is crucial.

I've been dealing with politicians all my life. All my life. And I've always gotten them to do what I need them to do.

The way you wield your power is about using it to afford you opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise have. So I'm very creatively ambitious, and I just hope people notice it; that's all I want.

I think it was when I realised I could talk anybody into doing just about anything I wanted them to.

Knowledge is power, if you know it about the right person.

Whenever I do a deal I always have the right of approval.

My greatest value derived from the fact that I had access to almost everybody.

Politics is who gets what, when, how.

With five votes and you can get anything around here.

Because of the term ‘whip’, it is assumed that members can be beaten into submission, but I’ve seldom seen that be successful. It’s getting to know the individual, what they think, how they feel, what’s going on in their personal life, are they agonizers or quick deciders, what kind of leverage can be used with them or on them.

Power comes through public persuasion.

I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have the sense to do without my persuading them. That's all the powers of the President amount to.

Get me inside any boardroom and I'll get any decision I want.

Even though I'm a chairman, I don't always get my way.

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.

Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you. It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection.