Theodore Roosevelt is a natural choice for leadership education. Along with many other observers, I believe he was among the greatest of leaders to serve as president.

If leadership is, fundamentally, about serving others, then any one person should be able to move between being a "leader" and a "follower."

Many people have a very hard time truly believing that doing the right thing by others, striving to serve them to the greatest extent, can actually be a competitive advantage.

Any gathering of people requires leadership to cohere, to achieve its potential contribution. What is not needed is a "boss" of yore, directing everyone else's efforts toward "the one best way."

Ronald Reagan memorably combined intimacy with distance.

Ronald Reagan was unusual in being an authentic personality. Unlike many professional actors - and politicians - he was much the same behind the curtain as in front.

Theodore Roosevelt crafted a masterpiece of service. He served people in every aspect of his life. His legacy was transformational, encompassing his family, his nation and the world.

Ronald Reagan's career was so unusual, so unprecedented, that this would be very interesting to learn, to gain understanding of his way of looking at the world.

William Ewart Gladstone is credited with the credo that a prime minister must be a "good butcher." The metaphor is apt insofar as the root of the word "decision" is "to cut."

In a time when our nation is engaged in multiple, long-term wars, it's critical that "the military" not become an abstraction to the vast majority of Americans who are not participants.

President-elect John F.Kennedy said to Robert McNamara that there's no school for presidents, or, for that matter, for secretaries of defense.

He read because it gave him instant gratification in a way nothing else did, and as was the case with all addicts, gratification was the important thing.

Noblest. Bravest. What rot. There was no bravery in buying oneself out of difficulty.

Everything which is of use to mankind is honourable.

We didn't understand irony yet in the '80s; we just kind of existed at face value, so there was no nerd cool yet because the digital revolution was still in its infancy.

Math is my favorite subject. It's the universal language. I like the fact that wherever you go in the whole world, two plus two will still be four.

When one is writing a novel in the first person, one must be that person.

I try to keep my private life private.

We are currently not planning on conquering the world.

He referred to me as an 'insufferable puffed-up prat'. This is a bit rich coming from a man who actually married his own mother.

The emotions will take care of themselves. You don't have to prod them along. As a matter of fact, you get in trouble when you prod them along.