Leadership Limitations Quotes

You may think the president is all-powerful, but he is not. He needs a lot of guidance from the Lord.

I don't think that a leader can control, to any great extent, his destiny. Very seldom can he step in and change the situation if the forces of history are running in another direction.

The finest plans have always been spoiled by the littleness of them that should carry them out. Even emperors can't do it all by themselves.

You cannot make elected officials … do what they will not do.

Management capability is always less than the organization actually needs.

I don't think that the leadership of Montgomery was prepared to capitalize, let's put it, on the projection that had come out of the Montgomery situation. Certainly, they had not reached the point of developing an organizational format for the expansion of it. So discussions emanated, to a large extent, from up this way.

It's often said of American politics that it's a huge juggernaut and the president can change the direction by two or three degrees in either direction, but not much more. In fact, I think the president's power is limited, much more than the prime minister in England.

We have had imperfect leaders in the past, and we will have imperfect leaders in the future.

Leaders get things wrong. Of course they do. They have imperfect information. They face competing political pressures. Ultimately they are human.

The office of the president is the most powerful in the world. It is also, at times, the most powerless.

It's all very well to put the government in the hands of the perfect man, but what do you do when the perfect man gets a bellyache?

A president can't go to every memorial service.

What I've learned is that unless it's an emergency, like a fire or brain surgery, hierarchy is not necessary and may be damaging. If you have a hierarchy, you're repeating the strengths and weaknesses of one person without allowing for the accumulative strength of a group.

The reality is even if you are a hands-on Mayor or Governor or chief executive, at best, you must know about 10 or 20% of what's going on. Otherwise, you never get through the day... I was very hands on, and there's lots of stuff I didn't know, and lots of things that either went wrong or right that I would find out about afterwards.

I'm not particularly good at running things when once they get to a certain level. Once it gets routine, get me out of the way.

The legislator is like the navigator of a ship on the high seas. He can steer the vessel on which he sails, but he cannot alter its construction, raise the wind, or stop the waves from swelling beneath his feet.

Galliani is a great leader but can't understand players.

Since I cannot govern my own tongue, though within my own teeth, how can I hope to govern the tongue of others?

Poor leaders have a certain style and that's the only style they have.

I can make a brigadier general in five minutes, but it's not so easy to replace 110 horses.

I don't feel that the conductor has real power. The orchestra has the power, and every member of it knows instantaneously if you're just beating time.

No matter how strong and dedicated a leader may be, he must find root and strength amongst the people. He alone cannot save a nation. He may guide, he may set the tone, he may dedicate himself and risk his life, but only the people may save themselves.

A tremendous chief executive in a small market will never be great. All great companies start with great markets.

There are no perfect leaders.