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Colin Powell on Leadership

1937–2021 United States

← All quotes by Colin Powell

2 quotes

Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.

The Powell Principles (2003)

Success ultimately rests on small things, lots of small things. Leaders have to have a feel for small things — a feel for what is going in in the depths of an organization where small things reside. The more senior you become, the more you are isolated by pomp and staff, and the harder and more necessary it becomes to know what is going on six floors down. One way is to leave the top floor and its grand accoutrements and get down into the bowels for real. Don't tell anyone you are coming. Avoid advance notices that produce crash cleanups, frantic preparations, and PowerPoint presentations.

It Worked For Me (2012)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Colin Powell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.