Selected decision making quotes

1. Youth is ever apt to judge in haste, and lose the medium in the wild extreme.

2. Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.

3. Acts which are essentially dishonourable must not be done; they would be justified only by calm contemplation of their correctness in abstract cases.

4. Every time I decide I want a child I get another pet. I have 3 dogs, 13 birds and 3 horses, what does that tell you?

5. Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.

6. Sometimes you don't know if you're Caesar about to cross the Rubicon or Captain Queeg cutting your own tow line.

7. We must as second best, as people say, take the least of the evils.

8. To give a satisfactory decision as to the truth it is necessary to be rather an arbitrator than a party to the dispute.

9. I would suggest respectfully to the president that he is not the sole decider. The decider is a shared and joint responsibility.

10. Most of my problems have no answer or else the answer is worse than the problem.

11. The majority is never right, unless it includes me.

12. You can never discard too many bad ideas.

13. It's amazing how much research has gone into making some of the worst decisions.

14. The more sure you are, the more wrong you can be.

15. Vote wisely, even if that means not voting at all.

16. Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.

17. Thinking too little about things or thinking too much both make us obstinate and fanatical.

18. Reason must be the universal rule and guide; all things must be done according to reason without allowing oneself to be swayed by emotion.

19. Ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.

20. At least half of my life's many mistakes can be safely put down to impetuosity: the other half derive from inertia.

21. Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning.

22. If you're going to have centralization, why not have it!

23. Whenever you have a possibility of going in two ways, either for peace or for war, for peaceful methods of for military methods, in the present age there is a strong prejudice for the peaceful ones. War seldom ever leads to good results.

24. I think there is some methodology in my travels.

25. I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind.

26. Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.

27. Statistics are no substitute for judgment.

28. If a man consults whether he is to fight, when he has the power in his own hands, it is certain that his opinion is against fighting.

29. Time is everything; five minutes make the difference between victory and defeat.

30. Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be.

31. Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.

32. Increasingly in recent times we have come first to identify the remedy that is most agreeable, most convenient, most in accord with major pecuniary or political interest, the one that reflects our available faculty for action; then we move from the remedy so available or desired back to a cause to which that remedy is relevant.

33. The politician who never made a mistake never made a decision.

34. A person knows when it just seems to feel right to them. Listen to your heart.

35. We all agree on the necessity of compromise. We just can't agree on when it's necessary to compromise.

36. There's often more than one correct thing. There's often more than one right thing. There's often more than one obvious thing.

37. Life is made up of a series of judgments on insufficient data, and if we waited to run down all our doubts, it would flow past us.

38. If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.

39. There is a limit to the application of democratic methods. You can inquire of all the passengers as to what type of car they like to ride in, but it is impossible to question them as to whether to apply the brakes when the train is at full speed and accident threatens.

40. Decisions, particularly important ones, have always made me sleepy, perhaps because I know that I will have to make them by instinct, and thinking things out is only what other people tell me I should do.

41. The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it have any evil in it; but whether it have more of evil, than of good. There are few things wholly evil, or wholly good. Almost every thing, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.

42. A man's mind will very generally refuse to make itself up until it be driven and compelled by emergency.

43. They cleaned my pockets out frankly. I have some money left, but not that much. I've got some assets. It's amazing they didn't get everything. Now my only income is a few royalty checks from my books. I was really very foolish, but I thought I was doing what I had to do. When I sent those checks off, I really didn't have the slightest qualms, no regrets, not the slightest. I don't really regret it that much, to tell you the truth, even now.

44. 'We all have a tendency to use research as a drunkard uses a lamppost -- for support, but not for illumination.'

45. [U]nlike a well-defined, precise game like Russian roulette, where the risks are visible to anyone capable of multiplying and dividing by six, one does not observe the barrel of reality.

46. Devine, si tu peux, et choisis, si tu l'oses.

47. When anger rushes, unrestrain'd to action, Like a hot steed, it stumbles in its way: The man of thought strikes deepest, and strikes safest.

48. Does it follow that I reject all authority? Far from me such a thought. In the matter of boots, I refer to the authority of the bootmaker; concerning houses, canals, or railroads, I consult that of the architect or engineer. For such or such special knowledge I apply to such or such a savant. But I allow neither the bootmaker nor the architect nor the savant to impose his authority upon me. I listen to them freely and with all the respect merited by their intelligence, their character, their knowledge, reserving always my incontestable right of criticism and censure. I do not content myself with consulting authority in any special branch; I consult several; I compare their opinions, and choose that which seems to me the soundest. But I recognize no infallible authority, even in special questions; consequently, whatever respect I may have for the honesty and the sincerity of such or such an individual, I have no absolute faith in any person. Such a faith would be fatal to my reason, to my liberty, and even to the success of my undertakings; it would immediately transform me into a stupid slave, an instrument of the will and interests of others.

49. At the constitutional level where we work, ninety percent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections.

50. I'm not going to put my lot in with economists.

51. It is better to debate a question without deciding it than to decide it without debate.

52. One mark of a good officer: the ability to make quick decisions. If they happen to be right, so much the better

53. As soon Seek roses in December, ice in June; Hope constancy in wind, or corn in chaff; Believe a woman or an epitaph, Or any other thing that's false, before You trust in critics, who themselves are sore.

54. It's not that Governments are constitutionally incapable of making the right decision, it's that they only do so as a matter of last resort.

55. I don't have any idea what to order, so I talk to a few of the folks milling around outside. I think I've got it straight, but then I go inside and find a factory that would make Willy Wonka blush. I'm lost in a sea of possibilities.

56. Summoning the Duke of Richmond, who was to have command of the reserve when formed, he asked for a map. The two withdrew to an adjoining room. Wellington closed the door, and said, with an oath, 'Napoleon has humbugged me.' He then explained that he had ordered his army to concentrate at Quatre Bras, adding, 'But we shall not stop him there; and if so, I must fight him here,' marking Waterloo with his thumb-nail on the map as he spoke. It was not until the next morning that he left for the front.

57. Drivers exist in a world where decisions made in fractions of seconds could mean the difference between life and death; you do not allow yourself to be held ransom by emotions, especially fear.

58. Opportunity is like a bald-headed man with only a patch of hair right in front. You have to grab that hair, grasp the opportunity while it's confronting you, else you'll be grasping a slick bald head.

59. When a woman get pregnant, it's an issue between her and her girlfriends. When a woman get pregnant, her and her girlfriends form an abortion tribunal, and they vote on the child like it was Survivor. Then the first girlfriend throws in her two cents: 'Child, you should have that baby, that man got some good hair, it's wavy, it's wavy.' Then second girlfriend throws in her two cents: 'Girl, why are we even talking about this? Ain't we supposed to go to Cancun next weekend? Get rid of that baby.' And that's how life is decided in America.

60. What are we allowed to do when we're looking for things we're required to do?

61. I know when to stay in And when to go out Get things done!

62. Gad, sir, Churchill is right. The Govt. has evidently made an irrevocable decision to be guided by circumstances with a firm hand.

63. Trust your hunches... Hunches are usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level. Warning! Do not confuse your hunches with wishful thinking. This is the road to disaster.

64. You may think, passer-by, that Fate Is a pit-fall outside of yourself, Around which you may walk by the use of foresight And wisdom.

65. Don't even step out of your garden gate until this matter has been clarified.

66. Who imagines that there exist any common ideals of distributive justice such as will make the Norwegian fisherman consent to forego the prospect of economic improvement in order to help his Portuguese fellow, or the Dutch worker to pay more for his bicycle to help the Coventry mechanic, or the French peasant to pay more taxes to assist the industrialization of Italy? If most people are not willing to see the difficulty, this is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this justly and equitably.

67. It is only because the majority opinion will always be opposed by some that our knowledge and understanding progress. In the process by which opinion is formed, it is very probable that, by the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point which the majority have reached. It is because we do not yet which of the many competing new opinions will prove itself the best that we wait until it has gained sufficient support.

68. What one refuses in a minute No eternity will return.

69. There is no such thing necessarily in a dictatorial regime of iron-clad absolutely solid evidence. The evidence I had was the best possible evidence that he had a weapon.

70. I believe it is the job of a President to confront problems, not pass them on to future Presidents and future generations.

71. A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief.

72. I understand not everybody agrees with the decisions I've made, but that's not unique to Central or South America. Truth of the matter is, there's people who disagree with the decisions I've made all over the world. But that's what happens when you make decisions.

73. A committee is a small group of people who get together to dream up difficulties and avoid decisions.

74. Vis consili expers mole ruit sua.

75. Unfortunately for those who must make far-reaching decision without the benefit of an intimate knowledge of reactor technology, and unfortunately for the interested public, it is much easier to get the academic side of an issue than the practical side. For a large part those involved with the academic reactors have more inclination and time to present their ideas in reports and orally to those who will listen. Since they are innocently unaware of the real but hidden difficulties of their plans, they speak with great facility and confidence. Those involved with practical reactors, humbled by their experiences, speak less and worry more.

76. Yet it is incumbent on those in high places to make wise decisions and it is reasonable and important that the public be correctly informed. It is consequently incumbent on all of us to state the facts as forthrightly as possible.

77. The Quakers have an excellent approach to thinking through difficult problems, where a number of intelligent and responsible people must work together. They meet as equals, and anyone who has an idea speaks up. There are no parliamentary procedures and no coercion from the Chair. They continue the discussion until unanimity is reached. I want you guys to do that. Get in a room with no phones and leave orders that you are not to be disturbed. And sit there until you can deal with each other as individuals, not as spokesmen for either organization.

78. It is a human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. A successful manager must resist this temptation. This is particularly hard if one has invested much time and energy on a project and thus has come to feel possessive about it. Although it is not easy to admit what a person once thought correct now appears to be wrong, one must discipline himself to face the facts objectively and make the necessary changes - regardless of the consequences to himself. The man in charge must personally set the example in this respect. He must be able, in effect, to 'kill his own child' if necessary and must require his subordinates to do likewise.

79. Gentlemen of the Convention, your present temper may not mark the healthful pulse of our people. When your enthusiasm has passed, when the emotions of this hour have subsided, we shall find below the storm and passion that calm level of public opinion from which the thoughts of a mighty people are to be measured, and by which final action will be determined.

80. She dealt with moral problems the way a cleaver deals with meat: and in this case she had made up her mind.

81. It ain't by princerples nor men My preudunt course is steadied- I scent wich pays the best, an' then Go into it baldheaded.

82. I cannot sit and let Something happen I'll regret. Ooh, he scares me! There's a man behind those eyes. I catch him when I'm bending.

83. I'm serious about thinking through all the possibilities before we settle on anything. All things have the advantages of their disadvantages, and vice versa.

84. Rule 1: Only overrule the tactical computer if you know something it doesn't. Rule 2: The tac comp always knows more than you do.

85. This is my tendency; but can I say That this my thought leads the true, only way? I only know it constant leads, and I obey.

86. President Skroob (Mel Brooks): 'What the hell, it works on Star Trek!'

87. Never cross a river because it is on average 4 feet deep.

88. Let me just put the whole thing in a kind of mundane level. Like, suppose you walk out in the street, this evening, and you see a crime being committed, you know, somebody is robbing someone else. Well, you have three choices. One choice is to try to stop it, maybe you call 911 or something. Another choice is to do nothing. A third choice is to pick up an assault rifle and kill 'em both, and kill a bystander at the same time. Well, suppose you do that, and somebody says, 'Well, you know, why did you do that?' And you say, 'Look, I couldn't stand by and do nothing.' I mean, is that a response? If you can think of nothing that wouldn't do harm, then do nothing. And the same is true, magnified, in international affairs. Apart from the fact that there were things that could have been done.

89. You'd think she'd learn something from that. But she still does the same thing. Making decisions that deform other people's lives, without consulting them, without ever conceiving that perhaps they don't want her to save them from whatever supposed misery she's saving them from.

90. You don't understand everything, but you still make decisions. Well, we don't understand everything, either. But we decided didn't we? And we made the right choice, didn't we?

91. Maybe she just wanted to be the one to decide when things happened between them. Then again, what women didn't want to decide that?

92. Knowing was better than not knowing. But not by much.

93. We're still struggling to find a significant amount of intelligence here, so no.

94. 'I'll tell you what let's do'.

95. Une occasion manquee se retrouve, tandis qu'on ne revient jamais d'une demarche precipitee.

96. C'est une imprudence assez commune aux rois D'ecouter trop d'avis et se tromper au choix.

97. Now it is no longer a matter of deciding what to do, but of deciding how to decide.

98. 'How easily we Indians see the several sides to every question! That is what makes us such good bureaucrats, and such poor totalitarians. They say the new international organizations set up by the wonderfully optimistic (if oxymoronic) United Nations are full of highly successful Indian officials with quick, subtle minds and mellifluous tongues, for ever able to understand every global crisis from the point of view of each and every one of the contending parties. That is why they do so well, Ganapathi, in any situation that calls for an instinctive awareness of the subjectivity of truth, the relativity of judgement and the impossibility of action.' [16]

99. The purpose of having an open mind is the same as having an open mouth, the object being eventually to close it on something solid. But one should never close either mind or mouth until the general circumstances of the moment make it reasonable to do so.

100. 'A man who was always taking two irons out of the fire and putting three in'