Generals aren't in the business of commenting on the correctness or incorrectness of the President's decisions. Anybody who thinks he should be able to do that ought to be fired on the spot.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Leadership is defined by a strong character, even more so than strategy.
This quote emphasizes the importance of personal integrity and character in leadership roles. While strategy is significant for achieving goals, Schwarzkopf suggests that a leader's character—honesty, ethics, and virtue—is paramount, as it builds trust and engagement among followers.
Themes
LeadershipCharacterStrategyIntegrityTrust
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting to discuss leadership qualities, this quote can be shared to inspire colleagues.
More from Norman Schwarzkopf
All quotes →As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
All you have to do is hold your first soldier who is dying in your arms, and have that terribly futile feeling that I can't do anything about it... Then you understand the horror of war.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
I am living proof that if you catch prostate cancer early, it can be reduced to a temporary inconvenience, and you can go back to a normal life.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
Good generalship is a realization that... you've got to try and figure out how to accomplish your mission with a minimum loss of human life.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
I'm not proud of killing, of being responsible for the death of a single person. I never will be.
Norman SchwarzkopfRead
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