Post 3: Leadership Lessons for President G.W. Bush’s book titled Decision Points

This is third and final posting of leadership quotes I lifted from Decision Points.  I hope you will read the first and second posting too, if you haven't already.  It can be retrieved from the blog archive which is to the right of posting area.  The leadership trait that corresponds to the quote is included at the end of the quote along with the page number.

 “One of the lessons I took from Roosevelt and Reagan was to lead the public, not chase the opinion polls.” P.272

“The principle was straightforward: You cannot solve a problem until you diagnose it. Accountability would serve as a catalyst for reform.” P 274 Problem solving


“While I was willing to fine-tune legislation in response to Democratic concerns, I would not compromise my principles…” P.300 Character-based Leadership


“I prided myself on my ability to make crisp and effective decisions. Yet in the days after Katrina, that didn’t happen. The problem was not that made the wrong decisions. It was that I took too long to decide.” P. 310 Decisiveness


“One lesson for the 2004 Florida hurricanes was that solid preparation before a storm is essential to a successful response.” P. 314 Preparedness and Planning


“Lincoln discovered Generals Grant and Sherman. Roosevelt had Eisenhower and Bradley. I found David Petraeus and Ray Odierno.” P.389 Personnel (Getting the right people on the bus and the right person driving the bus)


“If you want the facts, it’s a size-ten shoe that he threw,” I said. I hoped that by trivializing the moment, I could keep the shoe thrower from accomplishing his goals of ruining the event.” P.392 Sense of Humor and Flexibility


This concludes the leadership postings from George Bush’s book titled Decision Points. I hope you gained some insight and picked up a few golden nuggets about leadership. If you get the opportunity please read the book. It doesn’t matter whether you voted for him or agree with him on the issues. The fact of the matter is that we can learn about the leadership discipline from people who are like and unlike us in attitude, aptitude, personality, and other areas of personality. Some of the best leadership lessons come from poor leaders, although I don’t think Bush was. By studying and observing in real time poor leaders, we learn what to do and learning what not to do.


I believe that George W. Bush, as are all leaders including you and me, has feet of clay. He made some mistakes, which in the book he did not hesitate at admit. That too is a lesson to learn in that we too will make mistakes and never be a perfect leader. Don’t let the fact that you are not going to get it right all the time keep you from being a decisive and proactive leader. Do the best you can to make the best decisions you can based upon the available information and time. I rather follow a leader who makes a mistake here and there rather than follow a non-leader who is frozen from the fear of failure or making a mistake. Like Bush don’t be afraid to take the bull by the horns and leaderup!


As always, remember that character-based leadership is from the inside out!


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