May the sun never set on American baseball.
The difficulty with businessmen entering politics, after they've had a successful business career, is that they want to start at the top.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Successful businessmen often expect immediate high positions in politics rather than starting from the bottom.
Harry S. Truman illustrates the challenges that arise when businessmen transition into politics, emphasizing that their success in business can lead them to expect top-tier political positions without acknowledging the need for a grassroots understanding of the political system. This expectation can create a disconnect with the complexities of political life and public service, which often require experience, patience, and a deep understanding of the needs of constituents.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing the challenges of leadership transitions, this quote highlights the necessity of grassroots experience in politics.
More from Harry S. Truman
All quotes βHaving found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.
Herbert Hoover once ran on the slogan, 'Two cars in every garage'. Apparently, the Republican candidate this year is running on the slogan, 'Two families in every garage'.
The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.
I never would have agreed to the formulation of the Central Intelligence Agency back in forty-seven, if I had known it would become the American Gestapo.
I would rather have peace in the world than be President.
Similar quotes
Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.
A good commander is benevolent and unconcerned with fame.
Do not tolerate brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high.
It is well to remember that the office of Chief Executive is in part a symbol of the nation and that leaders in a nation may differ in their own house but they have instant solidarity in the presence of foreign attack
A major reason capable people fail to advance is that they don't work well with their colleagues.
My father's leadership was about more than civil rights. He was deeply concerned with human rights and world peace, and he said so on numerous occasions. He was a civil rights leader, true. But he was increasingly focused on human rights and a global concern and peace as an imperative.