Colin Powell’s 13 Rules: Leadership Gems from the General!

One of the most inspiring speeches I have ever seen took place back in February of 2016 and I almost didn’t see it. I was invited to a technology conference on Miami Beach but was so busy at the time that I debated whether or not it would be a good use of my time.

However, as soon as I saw that the keynote speaker was former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, my decision was made, I was going to attend.

And boy, am I glad I did!

General Powell spoke for an hour and discussed topics ranging from the future of technology, to the current political landscape, to diversity, to a couple of stories from his latest book called It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership. It is a fantastic book that I recently read for the second time which contains 44 small chapters, each not more than 6 or 7 pages which capture the essence of what Powell tried to do as a leader.  One of the early chapters also details Colin Powell’s 13 Rules which are a bunch of quotes and aphorisms he had collected or made up over the years.

In today’s post, we will discuss Colin Powell’s 13 Rules which are applicable to use in our everyday lives both in and out of the office.  I also wanted to share two of the stories he told at that conference which also appear in the book.

So, we will start this blog post with one of the stories, we will then review Colin Powell’s 13 Rules and then end it with another of his great stories.

The First Story…

…took place in the Oval Office not long after Powell began his position as National Security Advisor to then-President Ronald Reagan. He went to the President one afternoon to describe a problem he was trying to solve. The President was sitting in his usual chair in front of the fireplace with a lovely view of the Rose Garden and Powell was sitting on the couch to his left.

After a while of describing the problem in extreme detail and complexity, he noticed the President wasn’t really paying attention and was instead looking past him into the Rose Garden.

Just as Powell began speaking a bit louder and in more detail the President interrupted him, “Colin, Colin, look, look, look, the squirrels just came and got the nuts I put out there this morning.”  He then sat back down in his chair and turned to Powell. At that point, Powell knew the meeting was over, got up, excused himself and headed back to his office to reflect.

Then it hit him, and it was something he knew all along and it was something he would apply to every leadership position he had from then on.  What the President was really saying to him was, “Colin you know I love you and I will sit here for as long as you want me to as I listen to you tell me about your problem. But until you give me a problem, I am going to watch the squirrels in the Rose Garden.”

The point was this – Reagan hired him to solve problems within a specific range and he trusted him to solve those. And if the problems fell outside that range, he should come to ask the President for help, but until then Reagan empowered him to solve them himself.

Colin Powell’s 13 Rules

Let’s now take a look at Colin Powell’s 13 rules along with a brief description of each:

(1)  It Ain’t As Bad as You Think, It Will Be Better in the Morning

As he says, “This rule reflects an attitude and not a prediction. I have always tried to keep my confidence and optimism up, no matter how difficult the situation.” ¹

It is about having the belief that things will get better and that you will make them better. And many times, it’s just a matter of getting a good 8 hours of sleep and letting time pass.

(2)  Get Mad, Then Get Over It

We all get mad it is a healthy and natural emotion. The key is when we do get mad to keep control of ourselves and to get over it as quickly as possible.

(3)  Avoid Having Your Ego So Close to Your Position That When Your Position Falls, Your Ego Goes with It

The advice here is to remember that your position was faulty and not your ego. As Powell says, “Loyalty is disagreeing strongly, and loyalty is executing faithfully. The decision is not about you or your ego, it is about gathering all the information, analyzing it, and trying to get the right answer.” ¹

(4)  It Can Be Done

Of course, there are always things that cannot be done. But rather than being skeptical and surrounding yourself with instant skeptics, instead, start out believing you can do it until facts and data pile up refuting it.

(5)  Be Careful What You Choose: You May Get It

While there are times that we need to make decisions right away, most times that is not the case. The advice is not to rush if you can help it, examine the choices, and think through the consequences as you will have to live with them.

(6)  Don’t Let Adverse Facts Stand in the Way of a Good Decision

Many times, you will have the data and facts that reveal the correct choices. But there are other times when you will need to rely on your instinct and judgment to make the right decision.

(7)  You Can’t Make Someone Else’s Choices. You Shouldn’t Let Someone Else Make Yours

If the ultimate responsibility for something is yours then you need to make the decision yourself. That is not to say you should not involve others or get their feedback. The idea is to make sure your decision is not based on the pressure or desire of other people.

(8)  Check Small Things

As Powell says, “Success ultimately rests on small things, lots of small things. Leaders need to have a feel for small things—a feel for what is going on in the depths of an organization where small things reside.” ¹ One way he suggests is to visit the front-lines often where the small things reside to see what’s going on.

(9)  Share Credit

When stuff goes well make sure you pass that praise down to those who deserve the recognition. Likewise, when something bad happens, take the blame, figure out why it happened, and fix it.

(10)  Remain Calm, Be Kind

No one does well in an atmosphere of chaos, instead, remain calm. As Powell says, “Calmness protects order, ensures that we consider all the possibilities, restores order when it breaks down, and keeps people from shouting over each other.” ¹

(11)  Have a Vision, Be Demanding

I love how Powell says, “Standards must be achievable (though achieving them will always require extra effort), and the leaders must provide the means to get there. The focus should always be on getting better and better.” ¹

(12)  Don’t Take Counsel of Your Fears or Naysayers

While fear is a completely normal emotion, we need to be aware of when it hits us and figure out how to operate despite it. “We must prepare for it and control it; we never let it control us.” ¹

As for naysayers, you should only use their input as one of the many that you receive. But remember, they limit progress and never move anything forward.

(13)  Perpetual Optimism is a Force Multiplier

This is one that a friend/mentor of mine who worked under Powell for 8 years in the Pentagon shared with me often. In the book, Powell explains it by saying, “Perpetual optimism, believing in your purpose, believing you will prevail, and demonstrating passion and confidence is a force multiplier. If you believe and have prepared your followers, the followers will believe.” ¹

The Second Great Colin Powell Story

One day when he was Secretary of State he got bored in his office, so he decided to go for a walk around the building. He ended up escaping from his bodyguards and made his way down into the garage where the cars were parked every morning in the State Department.

It was so crowded down there that he often wondered how they got all the cars in. When he asked the parking attendants how they did it, they explained to him that what they did was stack cars in threes – car 1, car 2, car 3.

Meaning that at the end of the day, car 2 and car 3 couldn’t leave until car 1 left.

While chatting with them, all immigrants who were making a couple of bucks over the minimum, Powell asked them:

“So, tell me, how do you decide every morning when people drive in, who is going to be car 1, car 2, and car 3?”

Their response went something like this:

“If, when you pull in in the morning and you stop by us, roll down your window, you look out, you smile and you say “good morning, how are you? Then you are number 1.”

Until next time…keep using Colin Powell’s 13 Rules, be kind to others and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. Wanna know more? Check out the entire book.

Use it or Lose It – Colin Powell’s 13 Rules

Colin Powell’s 13 Rules that we discussed above are:

(1)  It ain’t as bad as you think, it will be better in the morning
(2)  Get mad, then get over it.
(3)  Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it
(4)  It can be done.
(5)  Be careful what you choose: you may get it.
(6)  Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
(7)  You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
(8)  Check small things.
(9)  Share credit.
(10)  Remain calm, be kind,
(11)  Have a vision, be demanding.
(12)  Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
(13)  Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

When to Use It

Use Colin Powell’s 13 Rules whenever necessary in your life.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of Colin Powell’s Rules? Do you use any of them currently? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

¹ It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership by Colin Powell