Intelligence is not all that important in the exercise of power, and is often, in point of fact, useless.
Interpretation
Power does not always require intelligence and can sometimes thrive without it.
This quote suggests that intelligence may not be a crucial factor in effectively wielding power. In many political and leadership contexts, the ability to influence, manipulate, or control may overshadow intelligence as a necessary tool for success. Kissinger implies that those in power often operate based on practical considerations rather than intellectual capability, pointing out the complexities and perhaps flaws in leadership dynamics.
In practice
In a speech about political strategy, one might say, 'As Kissinger noted, intelligence is not all that important in the exercise of power.'
Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a tale of efforts that failed, or aspirations that werenβt realized. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy.
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.
It was a Greek tragedy. Nixon was fulfilling his own nature. Once it started it could not end otherwise.
The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.
If peace is equated simply with the absence of war, it can become abject pacifism that turns the world over to the most ruthless.
What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify.
People want to be a part of an organization that lets them be fully alive and bring their gifts to work. People really do want to be engaged and feel proud of their contribution.
Nelson Mandela, a better man, not a bitter man, made our world a better place in which to live. His life and leadership exemplify the highest courage, dignity, and dedication to human liberation.
I know that millions of Americans from all walks of life agree with me that leadership does not mean putting the ear to the ground to follow public opinion, but to have the vision of what is necessary and the courage to make it possible.
Women still have an uneasy relationship with power and the traits necessary to be a leader. There is this internalized fear that if we are really powerful, we are going to be considered ruthless or pushy or strident - all of those epithets that strike right at our femininity. We are still working at trying to overcome the fear that power and womanliness are mutually exclusive.
Whether individuals or organisations, we follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them, but for ourselves.
The team with the best players usually does win - this is why you need to invest the majority of your time and energy in developing your people.
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