Colin Powell

I may be down, but never out. An infantry officer can do anything.

2012

Whenever I'm faced with a difficult choice, my approach has always been to make an estimate of the situation- a familiar military process. What's the situation? What's the mission? What are the different courses of action? Which looks most likely to succeed? Now, follow your informed instinct, decide, and execute forcefully; throw the mass of your forces and energy behind the choice. Then take a deep breath and hope it works, remembering that "hope is a bad supper, but makes a good breakfast."

2012

Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don't disappoint yourself.

2012

I'm sleeping like a baby, too. Every two hours, I wake up, screaming.

Upon hearing that President Bush was "sleeping like a baby" on the eve of war with Iraq, as quoted in "The Tragedy of Colin Powell" (19 February 2004)., 2004

You break it, you own it.

As quoted in Plan of Attack (2004) by Bob Woodward, a book in which he was a key source, cautioning President Bush before the Iraqi war that he would be responsible for the fate of the Iraqi's after the fall of the Hussein regime., 2004

This may sound a little improper, but when the Vice President and I are alone it's Colin and Dick.

As quoted in Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees (23 April 2004)., 2004

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.

As quoted in The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell (2003) by Oren Harari, p. 164., 2003

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.

This evokes Will Durant's famous summation of Aristotle: "Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.", 2003

There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more.

Remarks to the United Nations Security Council (5 February 2003); in an interview (September 2005) with Barbara Walters, Powell was asked about the Security Council speech and responded that it was a "blot" on his record... "it will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now.", 2003

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

2003

Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.

2003

What the hell, what are these guys thinking about? Can't you get these guys back in the box?

Remark made to Joint Chiefs of Staff General Shelton regarding comments by Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld, advocating an attack on Iraq, even before the battle plan for attacking the Taliban was formulated, shortly after “the crucial meeting took place on September 15 in the Laurel Lodge at Camp David, at which Wolfowitz made the case for action against Iraq.” . Also see . (Remark from 9/2001 shortly after 9/11)., 2001

The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting in above-average effort.

1996

Many of my generation, the career captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels seasoned in that war [Vietnam], vowed that when our turn came to call the shots, we would not quietly acquiesce in halfhearted warfare for half-baked reasons that the American people could not understand.

1996

Our strategy in going after this army is very simple. First we are going to cut it off, and then we are going to kill it.

Remark made as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announcing the U.S. gulf war plan against Saddam Hussein's army. Pentagon press briefing (23 January 1991)., 1991