For years, Donald Rumsfeld has collected and written rules for life, for work, and for public service. When he became Secretary of Defense for the second time, in 2001, his long list of rules became hot property in Washington, circulating in the press, via e-mail, and reproduced widely. Finally, he has decided to make them available to the general public, with his royalties given directly to charity.
Here are some 200 rules covering such topics as life, business, government, serving in the White House, and national defense, by one of the most successful public servants and business leaders in recent times.
As longtime Rumsfeld friend and aide Ken Adelman notes in the Introduction, these rules not only can help us all live a good life, they also reveal a great deal about Donald Rumsfeld.
He is a man who wants to understand every situation he faces, but who values knowledgeable action more than pure knowledge by itself. He has a sense of humor, which comes through clearly in several rules. He is also, deeply, a man of honor and high standards, who notes in one rule that "Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up".
'Rumsfeld's Rules' will inspire and instruct readers from all walks of life. Lessons he has learned while dealing with the presidents of the United States are applicable to anyone who serves any leader; management lessons he learned as Chief of Staff to Gerald Ford will be helpful to anyone who has to hire, fire, and prioritize. Most of all, 'Rumsfeld's Rules' reflect a deep wisdom that transcends daily situations, and are worth pondering for a lifetime.
