 The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't do it. |
| Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective. |
| The way to do well is to do well. |
| When asked for your views, by the press or others, remember that what they really want to know is the President's views. |
| The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country. |
| There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. |
| Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos. |
| Imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000. It's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. |
| Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post. |
| Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes. |
| Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue. |
| Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems. |
| Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to "carry it off." |
| With the press there is no "off the record." |
