Skip to content

Leadership Quotes by Richard M. Nixon

14 Leadership quotes by Richard M. Nixon

All Leadership quotes Richard M. Nixon’s page

When you think of leadership, Nixon’s short set of reflections can be a quick gauge of his approach to power and decision‑making. Though modest in number, these quotes give a glimpse into how a former president framed authority and responsibility.

Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

I would not like to be a political leader in Russia. They never know when they're being taped.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

People are persuaded by reason, but moved by emotion; [the leader] must both persuade them and move them.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

If an individual wants to be a leader and isn't controversial, that means he never stood for anything.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Unpredictability is the greatest asset a leader can have.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

The successful leader does not talk down to people. He lifts them up.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Idealism without pragmatism is impotent. Pragmatism without idealism is meaningless. The key to effective leadership is pragmatic idealism.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I don't think that a leader can control, to any great extent, his destiny. Very seldom can he step in and change…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I refuse to make a decision that somebody else can make. The first rule of leadership is to save yourself for the…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I'm glad I'm not Brezhnev. Being the Russian leader in the Kremlin. You never know if someone's tape recording what you say.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

The time has come for us to draw the line. The time has come for the responsible leaders of both political parties…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Never has so much military and economic and diplomatic power been used so ineffectively, and if after all of this time, and…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

With all the power that a president has, the most important thing to bear in mind is this: You must not give…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

When the strongest nation in the world can be tied up for years in a war with no end in sight, when…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

“If America loses World War III [the Cold War], it will be because of the failure of its leadership class. In particular,…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Other authors on Leadership

More by Richard M. Nixon

I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice,

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Restoring nature to its natural state is a cause beyond party and beyond factions. It has become a common cause of all the people…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

What kind of nation we will be, what kind of world we will live in, whether we shape the future in the image of…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Once you get into this great stream of history you can't get out. You can drown. Or you can be pulled ashore by the…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

The ultimate test of a nation's character is not how it responds to adversity in war but how it meets the challenge of peace.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

History is a pathetic junkyard of broken treaties.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I refuse to make a decision that somebody else can make. The first rule of leadership is to save yourself for the big decision.…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I made my mistakes, but in all of my years in public life, I have never profited, never profited from public serviceI have earned…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I know you heard what you thought I said, but what I said isn't what I meant.

Richard M. Nixon

Image

I want to be sure...that nothing is done on these veterans. Is that understood?...Is the word out? That they are not to touch em,…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

“Nations not possessing great power can indulge in the luxury of criticism of others; those possessing it have the responsibility of decision. Faced with…

Richard M. Nixon

Image

The peace we seek in the world is not the flimsy peace which is merely an interlude between wars, but a peace which can…

Richard M. Nixon

Image