--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Napoleon was asked, \"Who do you consider…" description: "\"Napoleon was asked, \"Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?\" He responded saying, \"The victors.\" — Donald Rumsfeld" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png" --- # Napoleon was asked, "Who do you consider to be the… ![“Napoleon was asked, "Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?" He responded saying, "The victors.” quote by Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png) > “Napoleon was asked, "Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?" He responded saying, "The victors.” [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great leaders value those who achieve victory, regardless of fame. **In simple terms:** Victory defines greatness. Key Takeaway Recognize success over reputation. Themes leadership achievement humility Mood respectful inspirational Type historical advice When to use this quote - team management - project success - political leadership - sports coaching - business competition Key Concepts history military strategy Questions to Reflect On - Who are the unsung heroes in your field? - How can you celebrate effort as well as outcome? A Different Perspective Focusing only on victors may ignore learning from failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Napoleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napoleon/) ## Related quotes > [“The American Civil War lays out the stark contrast: the greatest generals in war are often abundant failures during peacetime, and vice versa. McClellan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassir-ghaemi/the-american-civil-war-lays-out-the-stark-contrast-the-greatest/) [Nassir Ghaemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassir-ghaemi/) > [“Mark Twain once told a story about a man who scoured the planet looking for the greatest general who ever lived. When the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/mark-twain-once-told-a-story-about-a-man-who-scoured-the-planet/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [There are always survivors at a massacre. Among the victors, if nowhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-are-always-survivors-at-a-massacre-among-the-victors-if-nowhere/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Even victors are by victories undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/even-victors-are-by-victories-undone/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Mankind is not disposed to look narrowly into the conduct of great victors when their victory is on the right side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mankind-is-not-disposed-to-look-narrowly-into-the-conduct-of-great/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“History is written by the victors, they say, but it seems to me that history is written above all by those who weren’t there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapka-kassabova/history-is-written-by-the-victors-they-say-but-it-seems-to-me-that/) [Kapka Kassabova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapka-kassabova/) > [History is the lies of the victors,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/history-is-the-lies-of-the-victors/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [History is written by the victors--and when there is no victors, it all winds up in the corporate shredders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/history-is-written-by-the-victors-and-when-there-is-no-victors-it-all/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [The true victors in life are those who, enduring repeated challenges and setbacks, have sentthe roots of their being to such a depth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/the-true-victors-in-life-are-those-who-enduring-repeated-challenges/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“I dispute the point that nuclear energy is 'clean' and 'cost-effective'. As I recall, when we first harnessed nuclear power it was to drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/i-dispute-the-point-that-nuclear-energy-is-clean-and-cost-effective/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [History is written by the victors. The victors in daily life tend to be those who live longest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/history-is-written-by-the-victors-the-victors-in-daily-life-tend-to/) [David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/) > [“History is written by the victors,’ she said, ‘but the truth has a way of revealing itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastien-de-castell/history-is-written-by-the-victors-she-said-but-the-truth-has-a-way-of/) [Sebastien de Castell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastien-de-castell/) > [History is said to be written by the victors. Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [The victors in great wars have always been spiritually defeated by the conquered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-william-russell/the-victors-in-great-wars-have-always-been-spiritually-defeated-by/) [George William Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-william-russell/) > [“History is alwys written by victors, and the defeated create a new set of myths to explain the past and gild the future”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/history-is-alwys-written-by-victors-and-the-defeated-create-a-new-set/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) ## More by Donald Rumsfeld > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I don't think we'll discover anything, myself. I think what will happen is we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-think-we-ll-discover-anything-myself-i-think-what-will-happen/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/members-of-the-u-s-house-and-the-u-s-senate-are-not-there-by-accident/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-federal-government-should-be-the-last-resort-not-the-first-ask-if/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-price-of-being-close-to-the-president-is-delivering-bad-news-you/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-speak-ill-of-your-predecessors-or-successors-you-didn-t-walk-in/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/if-you-can-t-solve-a-problem-make-it-bigger/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/enjoy-your-time-in-public-service-it-may-well-be-one-of-the-most/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/there-will-be-good-moments-and-there-will-be-less-good-moments/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/from-where-you-sit-the-white-house-may-look-as-untidy-as-the-inside/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/you-will-launch-many-projects-but-have-time-to-finish-only-a-few-so/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [What is the value of having millions of people in Iraq not having a repressive regime? What is the value of having the Iraqi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/what-is-the-value-of-having-millions-of-people-in-iraq-not-having-a/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-be-a-bottleneck-if-a-matter-is-not-a-decision-for-the-president/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [When you're skiing, if you're not falling you're not trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/when-you-re-skiing-if-you-re-not-falling-you-re-not-trying/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) [Explore all 234 Donald Rumsfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## More Napoleon quotes > [“Napoleon, the man of genius, did this! But to say that he destroyed his army because he wished to, or because he was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/napoleon-the-man-of-genius-did-this-but-to-say-that-he-destroyed-his/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“It can certainly be misleading to take the attributes of a movement, or the anxieties and contradictions of a moment, and to personalize or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-can-certainly-be-misleading-to-take-the-attributes-of-a-movement/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“They are subjected to all manner of taxes: the tithe, the hearth tax and the capitation tax. When all those are paid, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-scarrow/they-are-subjected-to-all-manner-of-taxes-the-tithe-the-hearth-tax/) [Simon Scarrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-scarrow/) > [“Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ Napoleon Bonaparte”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/never-interfere-with-an-enemy-while-he-s-in-the-process-of-destroying/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [The Emperor Napoleon, ascending gradually from his post of national magistrate to seat himself upon a throne without limits, seems to have wished to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-lafayette/the-emperor-napoleon-ascending-gradually-from-his-post-of-national/) [Marquis de Lafayette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-lafayette/) > [“Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and, therefore not geniuses. One can understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors-is-a-sufficient-proof-that/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [History is powerful stuff. One day your world is fine. The next day it's knocked for a metaphysical loop. Was Napoleon really at Waterloo?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bromell/history-is-powerful-stuff-one-day-your-world-is-fine-the-next-day-it/) [Henry Bromell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bromell/) > [“Your Excellency, I have no need of this hypothesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-excellency-i-have-no-need-of-this-hypothesis/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Greatness has its beauties, but only in retrospect and in the imagination": thus wrote General Bonaparte to General Moreau in 1800. His observation helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/greatness-has-its-beauties-but-only-in-retrospect-and-in-the/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“There is one thing alone to do in this world and that is to keep acquiring money and more money, power and more power,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-williams/there-is-one-thing-alone-to-do-in-this-world-and-that-is-to-keep/) [Kate Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-williams/) > [“Mac had many admirable qualities, but not tact. He was the sort of man who would have tried to cheer Napoleon up by talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/mac-had-many-admirable-qualities-but-not-tact-he-was-the-sort-of-man/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [Pitt the Younger was a great British Prime Minister. He saved Europe from Napoleon, he was the pilot who weathered the storm. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-heath/pitt-the-younger-was-a-great-british-prime-minister-he-saved-europe/) [Edward Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-heath/) > [I'm a little brother. I've always been small. People have said I have a Napoleon complex. But I've always had to fight for everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-paul/i-m-a-little-brother-i-ve-always-been-small-people-have-said-i-have-a/) [Chris Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-paul/) > [Let no one refer to the sword of Napoleon I as the instrument of progress and civilization!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-ducommun/let-no-one-refer-to-the-sword-of-napoleon-i-as-the-instrument-of/) Elie Ducommun > [Along with all those books about Lincoln, Obama might read some biographies of Napoleon. The general who established the Legion d'Honneur understood that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/along-with-all-those-books-about-lincoln-obama-might-read-some/) [Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/) [Browse all 205 Napoleon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napoleon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Napoleon was asked, \"Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?\" He responded saying, \"The victors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Rumsfeld" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-to-be-the-greatest-generals-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Napoleon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-to-be-the-greatest-generals-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/donald-rumsfeld-1507_napoleon_napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-t_206960.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Napoleon was asked, \"Who do you consider to be the greatest generals?\" He responded saying, \"The victors.” — Donald Rumsfeld", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Donald Rumsfeld", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Napoleon was asked, \"Who do you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-to-be-the-greatest-generals-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/napoleon-was-asked-who-do-you-consider-to-be-the-greatest-generals-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```