For half a century, Donald Rumsfeld has been at the center of our country's history. As a Naval aviator, US Congressman, a top aide to four American presidents, an ambassador, and the only twice-serving Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld knows government from the inside out-how it works, how it doesn't and what it tells us about our country. Less well-known than his career in public service is Mr. Rumsfeld's two decades at the top of American business, as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies. With Rumsfeld's Rules, the man once named one of America's ten toughest CEOs by Fortune magazine offers current and future leaders practical advice on how to make their companies and employees more effective. Over his career as one of the nation's most recognized-and controversial-executives, Don Rumsfeld collected hundreds of pithy, compelling, and often-humorous observations about life and leadership. When President Gerald Ford ordered the list of management aphorisms distributed to his staff, the collection became known as Rumsfeld's Rules.
In the decades since, these bi-partisan Rules have amused and enlightened presidents, foreign officials, diplomats, members of Congress, and business leaders. NPR has called them a Washington survival guide. Now, in the blunt and witty style that made his Pentagon press conferences must see TV during the George W. Bush administration, Rumsfeld selects some of his most important Rules and discusses them with fresh insights and anecdotes, in the context of having lived through 80 years of our nation's history. A book for aspiring politicos and industrialists, college graduates, teachers, and business leaders, Rumsfeld's Rules will provide new insight into how Rumsfeld thinks about leadership, management, and strategy, and show how that thinking helped him turn around ailing companies and lead the Pentagon in wartime. Rumsfeld provides tools to help hone readers' strategic thinking and rules to help them become better employees and leaders. Some examples include: On serving the boss: learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often.
On government, a lesson from Tony Blair: you begin when you're least capable and most popular, and you end when you're least popular and most capable. and, On serving the president: most advisors can tell a President how to improve what's been proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what is missing.