Compromise is usually bad. It should be a last resort. If two departments or divisions have a problem they can't solve and it comes up to you, listen to both sides and then pick one or the other. This places solid accountability on the winner to make it work. Condition your people to avoid compromise.

A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others, but someone who carries water for his people so that they can get on with their jobs.

Don't hire a master to paint you a masterpiece and then assign a roomful of schoolboy artists to look over his shoulder and make suggestions.

Consultants are people who borrow your watch and tell you what time it is, and then walk off with the watch.

If you have to have a policy manual, publish the 'Ten Commandments.'

We know there is a problem with communication but we are not going to discuss it in front of the entire staff.

A good manager doesn't try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you're the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong - that's healthy.