You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.

Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.

I cannot give any assurances. I'm not in that business. I haven't been, and I don't intend to get into it. People who try to make predictions about things or assurances often find they're wrong.

It is hard to put a price on some things. What is the value of having prevented nuclear weapons from getting into the hands of a dictator like Saddam Hussein - or of Gadhafi?

If you are working from your inbox, you are working on other people’s priorities.

To gain support in U.S. Congress and from other nations requires clarity, an acceptable mission and an explicit outcome.

Know that the immediate staff and others in the Administration will assume that your manner, tone and tempo reflect the President's.