Donald Rumsfeld

It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal task.

Let your family, staff, and friends know that you’re still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.

Remember where you came from.

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.

Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals.

A monopoly of jobs in this country is just as bad as a monopoly of bread!

No business can succeed in any great degree without being properly organized.

I actually do think you’re seeing this trend towards organizations just caring more about their brand and engaging. And so I think Home Depot will want to humanize itself. I think that’s a lot of why companies are starting blogs, are just giving more insight into what’s going on with them.

I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information.

The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman.

I have very good executives and great children. They’re very good.

Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if they stopped.

As members of the Ford Motor organization we are engaged in the production of an article of use for the people of all countries. Our principle is to make our work as profitable for the buyer as for the seller.

Anyone who criticises me for talking about fair trade is a few pebbles short of a beach. Because everyone should care about it, just like everyone should care about the environment, because we all live here.

Machines were devised not to do a man out of a job, but to take the heavy labor from man’s back and place it on the broad back of the machine.

There are good examples of companies – Coca-Cola is one – that invested before there was a huge market in countries, and I think that ended up playing out to their benefit for decades to come.

Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs.

I quickly figured out [that] the one ability I’d better have is to create relationships.

I avoid clients for whom advertising is only a marginal factor in their marketing mix. They have an awkward tendency to raid their advertising appropriations whenever they need cash for other purposes.

Edison, to a greater extent than has ever been recognized, is the father of American industrial methods.