Quotes About Decision-making

So with the end of the Cold War, it became increasingly obvious that there was no basis upon which any decision was being made, not in the White House, and certainly because of that, not in the Congress.

It is hard for people outside the White House to understand the constant daily problems and issues that come up that require the president's attention, but he can not let himself get too personally involved.

Second terms in the White House open the way for second thoughts.

It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government.

It is not the manager's job to prevent risks. It is the manager's job to make it safe to take them.

I get up around 6:30. I work from about 8:00 to 1:00, take a break for lunch, work again until about 5:00, and then go for a long walk and have dinner. Then, if my wife and I have no previous plans, we decide what to do for the evening.

Things that price at $4.99 sell very differently than things that price at $5.

Never make too good of a deal. It sounds a little counterintuitive, but the deals that are too good of a deal for you in the long run will end up hurting you. A lot of people in our business don't realize that. They think their job is to go in a room and negotiate the highest price.

Some managements do not even think of buybacks as an option. The idea of shrinking their equity base repels them. Their inclination instead is to get bigger, and this often leads them to pay rich prices for acquisitions that never earn their keep.

There is too much employer-employee relationship in America. I wish the musicians would feel that many decisions have to do with them and not delegate everything to management or to the board or to the committee. This is why you get a sense of pride in some of the European orchestras: because they are part of the decision-making.

The politics of partisanship and the resulting inaction and excuses have paralyzed decision-making, primarily at the federal level, and the big issues of the day are not being addressed, leaving our future in jeopardy.

I prefer exiting from projects that don't meet certain conditions, which primarily have to do with the script. When I'm disturbed, I can't act. I'm no use as a non-actor, right?

Being prime minister is a lonely job... you cannot lead from the crowd.

Your personality as the prime minister feeds through to what you emphasise, and what you don't, how you'll handle a situation - whether you've got the combination of intelligence or instincts to adapt and to make good decisions.

Asking for a royally appointed prime minister is undemocratic. It is, pardon me, a mess. It is irrational.

The prime minister found something hopeful in the man's eyes and manner. The 30 or so people who run this world analyze one another that way and then make decisions of life and death for us. Scary, but true.

I think the Prime Minister has embarked on a journey and he has no idea where he's taking us.

It was a mistake. I was wrong, but I discovered this many years later. I was acting on the basis of this mandate given me by the most important leaders of the world: President Bush's father, prime minister of France, President Mitterand, the Chinese, everybody.

A prime minister has to keep a certain balance when dealing with sensitive issues.

What do you prefer? A prime minister obsessed with being popular, or a prime minister who does the job?

As far as I know, Kamala Haasan does not choose the prime minister of this country.

You don't try and put rockets under prime ministers.

I served seven years as the chair of the Princeton economics department where I had responsibility for major policy decisions, such as whether to serve bagels or doughnuts at the department coffee hour.

The question I should have asked is not what is the rule, but what is the principle.