Childhood obesity isn't some simple, discrete issue. There's no one cause we can pinpoint. There's no one program we can fund to make it go away. Rather, it's an issue that touches on every aspect of how we live and how we work.
Michelle ObamaRead
I've seen how the issues that come across a president's desk are always the hard ones - the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Decisions made by leaders often involve complex problems that can't be solved with just data.
Michelle Obama's quote highlights the nature of leadership, particularly at the highest levels, where leaders must confront difficult, multifaceted issues that cannot simply be resolved through numerical analysis alone. It suggests that effective decision-making requires deeper insights, empathy, and sometimes intuition rather than reliance on hard data alone.
Themes
LeadershipDecision MakingComplexityChallengesInsight
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about leadership, this quote illustrates the complexities leaders face.
More from Michelle Obama
All quotes →What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life.
Michelle ObamaRead
We all need to start making some changes to how our families eat. Now, everyone loves a good Sunday dinner. Me included. And there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is when we eat Sunday dinner Monday through Saturday.
Michelle ObamaRead
Oh, I can't play soccer, and I'm not a great swimmer. I won't drown, but you won't see me doing laps in a pool.
Michelle ObamaRead
I worked with Congress on legislation, gave speeches to CEOs, military generals and Hollywood executives. But I also worked to ensure that my efforts would resonate with kids and families - and that meant doing things in a creative and unconventional way. So, yeah, I planted a garden and hula-hooped on the White House lawn with kids.
Michelle ObamaRead
Elections aren't just about who votes but who doesn't vote.
Michelle ObamaRead
Similar quotes
We've protected thousands of people in Libya; we have not seen a single U.S. casualty; there's no risks of additional escalation. This operation is limited in time and in scope.
Barack ObamaRead
Within the U.N. itself, I have appointed a record number of women to high-level positions. I did not fill jobs with women just for the sake of it - I looked for the best possible candidate, and I found that if you strip away discrimination, the best possible candidate is often a woman.
Ban Ki-MoonRead
There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized peace.
Woodrow WilsonRead
There is a kind of woman who is economically powerful, professionally powerful, who threatens a white male grip on power that has a long historic precedent in the country. Independent women living outside of marriage threaten all kinds of things about the way power is supposed to work.
Rebecca TraisterRead
If I had to reduce the responsibilities of a good follower to a single rule, it would be to speak truth to power.
Warren G. BennisRead
Clearly, the qualities Poles admire in a secretary of state - foreign languages, diplomatic experience, even sense of humor - are emphatically not those desired in a head of state: So be it.
Anne ApplebaumRead