Quotes About Leadership

I had no delusions about Hitler when I was appointed to my post in Berlin," he answered. "But I had at least hoped to find some decent people around Hitler. I am horrified to discover that the whole gang is nothing but a horde of criminals and cowards.

In his memoir-like history The World Crisis, 1916–1918, he said of Wilson, "What he did in April, 1917, could have been done in May, 1915. And if done then what abridgment of the slaughter; what sparing of the agony; what ruin, what catastrophes would have been prevented; in how many million homes would an empty chair be occupied today; how different would be the shattered world in which victors and vanquished alike are condemned to live!

If someone asks me why we did not use the regular courts I would reply: at the moment I was responsible for the German nation; consequently

Within two months we will have pushed Hitler so far into a corner that he'll squeak." It was possibly the greatest miscalculation of the twentieth century.

To Winston Churchill, it was long overdue. In his memoir-like history The World Crisis, 1916–1918, he said of Wilson, "What he did in April, 1917, could have been done in May, 1915. And if done then what abridgment of the slaughter; what sparing of the agony; what ruin, what catastrophes would have been prevented; in how many million homes would an empty chair be occupied today; how different would be the shattered world in which victors and vanquished alike are condemned to live!

On ne règne sur les âmes que par le calme," meaning, essentially, "One leads by calm.

Churchill did not and frankly could not manage the staggering pressure of directing the war by himself. He relied heavily on others, even if sometimes these others merely served as an audience on whom he could test his thoughts and plans.

These were men, wrote Lincoln Steffens, "who will not have an office unless it is up where the air is cool and fresh, the outlook broad and beautiful, and where there is silence in the heart of business.

From the start, Churchill and Fisher resolved to keep the operation so secret that only they and a few other Admiralty officials would ever know it existed.

Captain Hall had no direct control over Room 40—as of early 1915 his intelligence division and Room 40 were separate entities—but his name more than any other would come to be associated with its achievements.

Churchill slept well, not even waking when the all clear sounded at three forty-five A.M. He always slept well. His ability to sleep anywhere, anytime, was his particular gift.

She reminded him that in the past he had been fond of quoting a French maxim, "On ne règne sur les âmes que par le calme," meaning, essentially, "One leads by calm.

Oliver Cromwell in 1653: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing! Depart, I say, and let us have done with you! In the name of God, go!

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.

aerodrome" but, rather, "airfield"; not "aeroplane" but "aircraft." Churchill was particularly insistent that ministers compose memoranda with brevity and limit their length to one page or less. "It is slothful not to compress your thoughts," he said. Such precise and demanding communication installed at all levels a new sense of responsibility for events, and dispelled the fustiness of routine ministerial work.

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.

if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'

But you will ride it—instead of being driven before it—Thank Heaven that you are there, & at the helm of our destiny

Churchill] stood. As he spoke, his voice shook and tears streamed. 'In these days,' he said, 'I often think of Our Lord.' He could say no more. He sat down and looked at no one – the great orator made speechless by the weight of the day. Cowles found herself deeply moved. 'I have never forgotten those simple words and if he enjoyed waging the war let it be remembered that he understood the anguish of it as well.

Churchill's great friend Violet Bonham Carter told him that she had urged Clementine to restrain him from venturing into dangerous zones. "It may be fun for you—but it is terrifying for the rest for us. Please realize that for most of us this war is a One-Man Show (unlike the last) & treat your life like a guarded flame. It does not belong to you alone but to all of us.

Churchill slept well, not even waking when the all clear sounded at three forty-five A.M. He always slept well. His ability

chancellor of the exchequer

Churchill saw the relationship in succinct terms. "Some take drugs," he said. "I take Max.

The Fringes of Power; the work