Quotes About Decision-making

A military leader should always understand, of all human endeavors... the one that's the most unpredictable and the most costly is warfare.

Just as sports teams recognize the potentially game-changing benefit of calling time-outs, failing to do so in matters of warfare is a surefire way to continue losing.

To prepare adequately for the challenge of global warming, we must acknowledge both the good and the bad that it will bring. If our starting point is to prove that Armageddon is on its way, we will not consider all of the evidence, and will not identify the smartest policy choices.

I'm not in the business of warning people.

If a gigantic asteroid were barreling toward impact with our planet, you can bet there would be at least a few members of Congress who would insist on leaving it alone, either because they would see it as a warning shot from the Almighty or because a mining company with a savvy team of lobbyists had laid claim to the big rock.

It's easier to get into controlling relationships when you're young because you're much more eager to please, and controlling men pick up on that. If they like to make decisions for you at the start of a relationship, it can be a warning sign.

I've never met him, but I love the simplicity with which Warren Buffett describes good and bad businesses and how he makes his investment decisions.

I think, actually, any morality system that rewards only the extremes is a flawed system. Players don't approach life that way, they don't approach games that way, and they shouldn't be trained to approach games that way. They shouldn't be in the 'Star Wars' mode where, 'I've got to choose every good option.'

Politicians do not enter into wars lightly. It is usually the military themselves who are keener to become involved.

I'd like to be more decisive. I can take an hour to choose between two brands of washing powder in the supermarket.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were all given one do-over in life?" she murmured. "One free pass to go back and change one action, one decision, one thoughtless word?" He gave her a searching look, as if trying to figure out what moment she would alter. Finally he nodded. "One would be a start, I suppose, though I probably could use about a half dozen free passes." "Instead, we have to do our best to live with the consequences of our choices.

At least you will admit—you have, in fact, admitted it—that we could not be worse governed than we are?" "That is not the point. The point is should we be better governed if we replaced the present ruling class by another? Without some guarantee of that I should be the last to lift a finger to effect a change. And what guarantees can you give?

Not taking risks one doesn't understand is often the best form of risk management.

the single most important task in management is to pick good deputies,

Whose leadership, whose judgment, whose values do you want in the White House when that crisis lands like a thud on the Oval Office desk?

Examples may include decisions about negotiating a long-term lease for a business office, where to locate a new warehouse, whether and where to get an advanced degree, how to help your adult sibling who is clearly having personal difficulties, and what treatment to have for a serious medical condition.

Often a certain abdication of prudence and foresight is an element of success.

Speak the affirmative; emphasize your choice by utter ignoring of all that you reject.

The leader must be in charge of getting things done by running the three core processes—picking other leaders, setting the strategic direction, and conducting operations.

Many business heads also feel that they're "going it alone"—they're receiving much less guidance from their boss than they did when they were functional managers.

Over the years I've asked many of them what was the greatest mistake they ever made in the area of people. The most common answer? "Waiting too long" to remove a direct report who was not matched to the job.

Not at all. I mean, yeah, you're weird by teenage standards. But weird in a good way. I mean, it's your life, your liver, your brain cells. It's weird not to respect choice. Whether you're choosing to get pissed or go sober, or get high on weed or chocolate, everybody's gotta make their own choices.

First think, and if thy thoughts approve thy will, Then speak, and after, what thou speak?st fulfil.

when trying to make a decision, I often think of the worst-case scenario. I call it "The Eaten By Wolves Factor." If I do something, what's the most terrible thing that could happen? Would I be eaten by wolves?