I only met Margaret Thatcher twice. The thing that I thought about meeting her was how extraordinarily intelligent she was. You really had to be on your game otherwise she'd make mincemeat of you.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the intelligence and formidable presence of Margaret Thatcher, emphasizing the need for preparedness when engaging with strong leaders.
Salman Rushdie's quote reveals his impression of Margaret Thatcher as an extraordinarily intelligent individual who commanded respect and demanded high levels of performance from those around her. Meeting her left an impression not only of her intellect but also of her ability to engage in discussions where one needed to be well-prepared, or else risk being overshadowed in conversation. This serves as a testament to her leadership qualities and the bar she set for intellectual rigor.
In practice
During a leadership seminar, one might reference Rushdie's quote to emphasize the importance of preparation in discussions with influential leaders.
I've been fascinated by Machiavelli since I was very young. I've always felt that he had a bad rap from history, and that he was actually a person quite unlike what we now think of as Machiavellian. He was a republican. He disliked totalitarian government.
Killing people because you don't like their ideas - it's a bad thing.
faith without doubt is addiction
I am clearly vulnerable to these more passionate and volatile unstable relationships. I am trying to not be so vulnerable.
In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of 'respect.' What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
Holding individuals accountable for corporate wrongdoing isn't ideological; it's good law enforcement.
You need collaboration of its people; it's the only way to improve a company - can you ignore that? You need a win-win for every sub-group, which will ensure exponential growth for a company.
Coaches are basically schizophrenic. We are pessimistic to the press and among fellow coaches, but to our team, we are the eternal optimists.
For a prince should have two fears: one, internal concerning his subjects; the other, external, concerning foreign powers. From the latter he can always defend himself by his good troops and friends; and he will always have good friends if he has good troops.
Wise guidance never violates people's Free Will. A superior who demands obedience of his subordinates should show respect for their capacity to understand, and also for their Innate Right to their own Free Will.
The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.
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