There is only one 'retirement plan' for terrorists.
Jim MattisRead
Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the balance between decisive action and thoughtful consideration.
Jim Mattis reflects on the lessons learned from his experience in the military, highlighting the importance of combining strong action with careful thought. This philosophy encourages individuals to make decisive choices while remaining reflective and strategic, fostering effective leadership that values both courage and intellect.
In practice
In a leadership workshop, this quote can be used to inspire attendees to balance action with thoughtful planning.
There is only one 'retirement plan' for terrorists.
There are hunters, and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience, and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.
I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn't waste their lives because I didn't have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.
For whatever trauma came with service in tough circumstances, we should take what we learned - take our post-traumatic growth - and, like past generations coming home, bring our sharpened strengths to bear, bring our attitude of gratitude to bear.
Policy makers who have never served in the military continue to use the military to lead social change in this country.
It's very hard to live with yourself if you don't stick with your moral code.
It may seem odd to talk about something as soft and fuzzy as "passion" as an integral part of a strategic framework. But throughout the good-to-great companies, passion became a key part of the Hedgehog Concept.
Showing your femininity should help your career and not go against your career. Dressing like a man, using the suit to look powerful - that was the '80s, and that didn't help women.
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.
Open, frank communication is the lynchpin to teamwork. A fractured team is like a fractured bone; fixing it is always painful and sometimes you have to re-break it to heal it fully - and the re-break always hurts more because it is intentional.
I don't think any of us should forget that the security of America is our highest responsibility.
Leaders don't make excuses. They create results
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