The art of leadership is ...

The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.

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A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.
He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
From warriors ravens grew red And with their leader a host attacked.
 Taliesin
If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

Quotes from the same author

Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.
The threat today is not that of the 1930s. It's not big powers going to war with each other. The ravages which fundamentalist political ideology inflicted on the 20th century are memories. The Cold war is over. Europe is at peace, if not always diplomatically.
The 21st century will not be about the battle between capitalism and socialism but between the forces of progress and the forces of conservatism.
Genetic modification has many different areas, for example in medicine, and Britain is at the leading edge of this new technology. I don't know, but people tell me, it could indeed by the leading science of the 21st century. All I say to people is: 'Just keep an open mind and let us proceed according to genuine scientific evidence.'
I may find Saddam Hussein's regime abhorrent - any normal person would - but the survival of it is in his hands.