Thomas Roth

“Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.”
― Winston S. Churchill

“What I know concerns me. What I don’t know concerns me even more. What people aren’t telling me worries me the most.”
― Robert M. Gates, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

“What's the bravest thing you ever did?
He spat in the road a bloody phlegm. Getting up this morning, he said.”
― Cormac McCarthy, The Road

“Self-discipline is central to the leadership of institutions and to reforming them. A favorite saying of mine is "Never miss a good chance to shut up." I won't tell you how many times in a congressional hearing I just wanted to scream. How often in the White House Situation Room I wanted to say, "That's the dumbest idea I ever heard." How often in a briefing at the CIA or the Pentagon I wanted to tell someone where to stick his PowerPoint slides. Senior leaders want to blow off steam-shout at people- all the time. But to be an effective leader, you have to suppress those urges.”
― Robert M. Gates, A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service