Before Katrina, it was a longstanding tradition in our country for political officials to wait until the last minute to warn, to take action, to evacuate. No more. With Irene, you had mass evacuations - mandatory ones - issued days ahead of time. That was the right thing to do.

They went into stores to get food to stay alive. Looting isn't the right word. I call it survival.

During the aftermath of Katrina, National Guard troops were positioned on every block to establish a sense of safety and source of help for the people in need. They did not leave communities until people were safe and sound.

You cannot depend on a sandbag dike to save your life. You put it up to try to save your property.

Leadership means forming a team and working toward common objectives that are tied to time, metrics, and resources.

Teamwork builds trust and trust builds speed

Leadership is working with goals and vision management is working with objectives.