Tolkien can say that Aragorn became king and reigned for a hundred years, and he was wise and good. But Tolkien doesn’t ask the question: What was Aragorn’s tax policy? Did he maintain a standing army? What did he do in times of flood and famine? And what about all these orcs? By the end of the war, Sauron is gone but all of the orcs aren’t gone – they’re in the mountains. Did Aragorn pursue a policy of systematic genocide and kill them? Even the little baby orcs, in their little orc cradles?
The first job of a leader is to define a vision for the organization...the capacity to translate vision into reality.
When I was president of the company, I said, 'Okay, I can do this - piece of cake.' Then when you are the CEO, the responsibilities multiply enormously because you worry about everything.
I'm not really managing the work-life balance, I'm just accepting that the work increases and the ordinary life has to decrease when you're the prime minister.
In the last five years I used to go to Zen practice once a month, but since I assumed the post of prime minister it's been much harder.
The extreme scarcity of political leaders of any caliber is owing to the fact that they are called upon to decide at any moment, and in detail, problems which the increased size of societies may well have rendered insoluble.
A leader has to lead otherwise he has no business in politics.
Running a company is pretty demanding.
No senior politician can expect to have work-life balance. I'm afraid there are some jobs for which work-life balance inevitably goes out the window. If you want work-life balance you just have to accept that you can't be a senior member of a government, or for that matter a senior member of an opposition.
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.
As PM, you have got to do everything from chairing the Cabinet to ceremonial things. You have also got to do the nitty gritty. I do get stuck into the detail.
Leadership is a role you have to earn in order to be effective.
The ONLY thing leaders have in common is the shared decision to lead.
That's part of being President. You can't focus on any one thing to the exclusion of all other things.
I'm a leader. I'm the leader of this team, and they look for me at any point in the game, and that's not just scoring-wise, I do other things.
No easy problems ever come to the President. If they are easy to solve, somebody else has solved them.
You are not a leader to win a popularity contest-you are a leader to lead.
Those who rule the world get so little opportunity to run about and laugh and play in it.
In the end leaders are leaders. They get the credit and they get the blame.
The conversations have been cordial. [Donald Trump] has been open to suggestions, and the main thing that I've tried to transmit is that there's a different between governing and campaigning, so that what he has to appreciate is as soon as you walk into this office after you've been sworn in, you're now in charge of the largest organization on Earth.
I think that the role as a head football coach is a lot more than just winning games. Sometimes that's all we're measured upon.
Being the leader means you have to make life or death decisions sometimes.
God didn't make you a leader to respond to stuff all day. He made you a leader to move things forward.
You mustn't expect prime ministers to enjoy themselves. If they do, they mustn't show it - the population would be horrified.
The commander ought to lead every important movement.
Monroe was then Secretary of State and Jefferson an ex-President.