Colin Powell Quotes

On this page you can find the TOP of Colin Powell's best quotes! We hope you will find some sayings from Former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell's in our collection, which will inspire you to new achievements! There are currently 350 quotes on this page collected since April 5, 1937! Share our collection of quotes with your friends on social media so that they can find something to inspire them!
  • My own experience is that you get as much information as you can and then you pay attention to your intuition, to your informed instinct.

    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • The United States has every intention of continuing to do the kind of reconnaissance and surveillance work we have done for decades, well known to everyone, that is essential to protect our national security, and frankly, the security of our friends in various regions of the world. It is part of our collection system.

    Source: www.foxnews.com
  • I have never seen a good organization where the standards weren't high.

    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • We are not trapped in what the science of management says we can do. We are capable of doing what the art of leadership says is possible.

    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • Today I can declare my hope and declare it from the bottom of my heart that we will eventually see the time when that number of nuclear weapons is down to zero and the world is a much better place.

    Zero   Military   Heart  
  • I have always gone through public life and saying that with respect to political candidates, I always measure each candidate against what I think the country needs at that time, and I will vote for the person I think who is most qualified to serve the nation at that time.

    "Interview With Former Secretary Of State Colin Powell". "Morning Edition" with Steve Inskeep, www.npr.org. September 2, 2011.
  • The most effective means of ensuring the government's accountability to the people is an aggressive, free, challenging, untrusting press.

  • It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.

    Fighting   Men   Battle  
  • Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

    Fear   Naysayers  
    Colin Powell (2012). “It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership”, p.23, Harper Collins
  • As I've thought about gay marriage, I don't see any reason not to say that [couples] should be able to get married.

  • Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.

  • I went to graduate school as a lieutenant colonel after I had been in the army for 12 or 13 years. I learned so much from all the great management theorists. It gave me a greater understanding of my army experience and showed me the gaps in my knowledge.

    School   Army   Years  
    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • My responsibility, our responsibility as lucky Americans, is to try to give back to this country as much as it has given us, as we continue our American journey together.

    Colin L. Powell, Joseph E. Persico (2010). “My American Journey”, p.612, Ballantine Books
  • But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.

    "Bayh Indictment of Washington Causes Little Soul Searching". www.foxnews.com. February 21, 2010.
  • Great leaders are those who are able to look reality in the face, however painful it may be, and deal with it.

    Reality   Leader   Looks  
    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • In the military we are always looking for ways to leverage up our forces. Having greater communications and command and control over your forces than your enemy has over his is a force multiplier. Having greater logistics capability than the enemy is a force multiplier. Having better-trained commanders is a force multiplier. Perpetual optimism, believing in yourself, believing in your purpose, believing you will prevail, and demonstrating passion and confidence is a force multiplier. If you believe and have prepared your followers, the followers will believe.

  • Terrorism really flourishes in areas of poverty, despair and hopelessness, where people see no future

    "FORUM IN NEW YORK: THE MEETING; 2 Top Officials Offer Stern Talk On U.S. Policy" by Todd S. Purdum and David E. Sanger, www.nytimes.com. February 2, 2002.
  • Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.

    Colin L. Powell (1995). “My American Journey”, Random House Incorporated
  • But you have to understand, American democracy is not like the system you have. We're not an ocean liner that sails across the ocean from point A to point B at 30 knots. That's not American democracy. American democracy is kind of like a life raft that bobs around the ocean all the time. Your feet are always wet. Winds are always blowing. You're cold. You're wet. You're uncomfortable -- but you never sink.

    Ocean   Wind   Feet  
  • War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.

    Peace   Military   War  
    Colin L. Powell (1995). “My American Journey”, Random House Incorporated
  • Have a sense of humor to break the tension in times of great toil.

    "Transcript: Secretary of State Colin Powell". www.foxnews.com. June 13, 2004.
  • Some people naturally have a sense of empathy and an understanding of how to bring their followers to do things. They become great politicians.

    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • The ties that bind us are stronger than the occasional stresses that separate us.

    Stress   Ties   Stronger  
  • When you decide to get involved in a military operation in a place like Syria, you've got to be prepared, as we learned from Iraq and Afghanistan, to become the government, and I'm not sure any country, either the United States or I don't hear of anyone else, who's willing to take on that responsibility.

    "The Tavis Smiley Show" with Tavis Smiley, www.pbs.org. June 11, 2012.
  • We hope that more assistance will be available to the nations of the region, to include Egypt, on the three pillars that I discussed today: civic society development, education and economic development.

    Source: www.theguardian.com
  • Respect for leaders by followers can't be mandated; it must be earned. It has to be given to leaders by their followers.

  • Free speech is intended to protect the controversial and even outrageous word; and not just comforting platitudes too mundane to need protection.

  • Nobody wants to be in a mediocre organization. You don't have the same energy flowing through.

    Source: www.egonzehnder.com
  • You can never err by treating everyone in the building with respect, thoughtfulness, and a kind word. Everyone of our employees is an essential employee. Every one of them wants to be viewed that way. And if you treat them that way, they will view you that way. They will not let you down or let you fail. They will accomplish whatever you have put in front of them.

    Views   Essentials   Want  
  • We want to approach this in a multilateral way, talking with our friends, consulting with our security council colleagues in the United Nations, hoping to find a way to solve this peacefully, but at the same time recognising that unless the threat of military force is there, Iraq will not disarm.

    Military   Talking   Iraq  
    Source: www.theguardian.com
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  • We hope you have found the saying you were looking for in our collection! At the moment, we have collected 350 quotes from the Former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, starting from April 5, 1937! We periodically replenish our collection so that visitors of our website can always find inspirational quotes by authors from all over the world! Come back to us again!

    Colin Powell

    • Born: April 5, 1937
    • Occupation: Former United States Secretary of State