People Quotes by Colin Powell

Luck tends to come to people who are prepared.

— Colin Powell

Don't bother people for help without first trying to solve the problem yourself.

— Colin Powell

Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved.

— Colin Powell

It's a disgrace that we have millions of people who are uninsured.

— Colin Powell

The bottom line in all of it is that, in life, it's all about people.

— Colin Powell

Leadership is all about people … and getting the most out of people.

— Colin Powell

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.

— Colin Powell

“Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves.”

— Colin Powell

People get work done, not buildings, not staffs in a generic sense, and not plans, but people

— Colin Powell

You can't get it all done yourself. The best leaders are not afraid of picking people who are better than they are…

— Colin Powell

Actually, there is no more important task for a leader than to pick people. To make sure you have the very best…

— Colin Powell

There is no suggestion of regime change; quite the contrary, this is an initiative to help people and to help governments who…

— Colin Powell

Being in charge sometimes means making people mad. Some days you have to overrule even the best advice, because you think it…

— Colin Powell

Policies that emanate from ivory towers often have an adverse impact on the people out in the field who are fighting the…

— Colin Powell

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people…

— Colin Powell

Maybe we don't put our young people in situations often enough where they're allowed to fail. When you fail you gain experience,…

— Colin Powell

Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is…

— Colin Powell

It is the fault of the United States that these terrible people, these insurgents and terrorists are out there. They are the…

— Colin Powell

I always like to take my time and examine the two candidates, see not only the two candidates but the policies they…

— Colin Powell

Engineering didn't take to me. And what saved me and kept me in college was I ran into ROTC cadets who were…

— Colin Powell

What we would be committed to would be a representative government where all the Iraqi people decide who should lead their nation,…

— Colin Powell

Diplomacy is listening to what the other guy needs. Preserving your own position, but listening to the other guy. You have to…

— Colin Powell

My own experience is use the tools that are out there. Use the digital world. But never lose sight of the need…

— Colin Powell

I'm going to be bringing people into the public diplomacy function of the department who are going to change from just selling…

— Colin Powell

I would caution my Republican friends that [Obama has] three years to go, and in that three years the American people are…

— Colin Powell

Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never…

— Colin Powell

Our senior officers knew the war was going badly. Yet they bowed to groupthink pressure and kept up pretenses. ...Many of my…

— Colin Powell

It is the US government's desire for the Iraqi people to lead themselves, not for any outside power to be the leadership…

— Colin Powell

Service-learning is a particularly fertile way of involving young people in community service, because it ties helping others to what they are…

— Colin Powell

There's no doubt in my mind, though, that the Iraqi people would be better off with a different leader who did not…

— Colin Powell

The United States presents a value system to the world that is based on democracy, based on economic freedom, based on individual…

— Colin Powell

The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.

— Colin Powell

An organization that is not facing up to people who are not getting the job done, is going to have difficulties.

— Colin Powell

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

— Colin Powell

Some people naturally have a sense of empathy and an understanding of how to bring their followers to do things. They become…

— Colin Powell

Pissing people off doesn't mean you're doing the right things, but doing the right things will almost inevitably piss people off.

— Colin Powell

People have asked me, 'What would you have done if you hadn't gone into the Army?' I'd say I'd probably be a…

— Colin Powell

You have achieved excellence as a leader when people will follow you anywhere if only out of curiosity.

— Colin Powell

The most effective means of ensuring the government's accountability to the people is an aggressive, free, challenging, untrusting press.

— Colin Powell

You need to learn what people have done, but you need to learn where they have failed... Usually when they fail it…

— Colin Powell