In the 101st Airborne Division headquarters in Mosul, we had a sign on the wall. It was a question that we would ask ourselves before every new operation or policy initiative. It asked: Will this policy or operation take more bad guys off the streets than it creates by its conduct?
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of evaluating the consequences of operations and policies in terms of their effectiveness in reducing harmful elements.
David Petraeus highlights the critical necessity for military and leadership strategy to assess not just the immediate impacts of actions taken, but to consider the broader consequences, particularly how such actions may unintentionally lead to the creation of new threats. This reflective approach encourages leaders to ensure that their initiatives genuinely enhance safety and stability rather than exacerbate issues.
In practice
This quote can be used in a military briefing to emphasize strategic decision-making.
There is nothing I can do to undo what I did. I can only say again how sorry I am to those I let down and then strive to go forward with a greater sense of humility and purpose, and with gratitude to those who stood with me during a very difficult chapter in my life.
I considered our British comrades to rank with the finest men and women of any armed service in the world. And I know that my fellow American soldiers - and those of the other coalition countries under my command - valued very highly the professional expertise, capability, courage, and determination of our British partners on the battlefield.
The idea is to go to bed every night with fewer enemies than you had in the morning.
We periodically note that there are no silver bullets, there are no magic formulas, there's no single action or component of the overall... comprehensive civil-military approach.
At least from a national security standpoint, none of the problems the U.S. and U.K. face will become easier to solve if the U.K. is out of the E.U.; on the contrary, I fear that a 'Brexit' would only make our world even more dangerous and difficult to manage.
When Western politicians propose blanket discrimination against Islam, they bolster the terrorists' propaganda.
Come forward as servants of Islam, organise the people economically, socially, educationally and politically and I am sure that you will be a power that will be accepted by everybody.
Never ask your employees to do something you wouldn't be willing to do yourself.
To serve as prime minister while being too mindful of the approval rating is like serving as a prime minister on a roller coaster. What is important, I believe, is that I really act on promises that I make and leave results. Leave a track record and show that to the Japanese public, who will, at the end of the day, I hope, appreciate it.
Define excellence vividly, quantitatively. Paint a picture for your most talented employees of what excellence looks like. Keep everyone pushing and pushing toward the right-hand edge of the bell curve.
I don't want to see the military falling. I want to see the military rising to dignified heights of professionalism and true patriotism.
If you work for and eventually lead a company, understand that companies have multiple stakeholders including employees, customers, business partners and the communities within which they operate.
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