Over decades, blessed to run a company for 25 years, manage a $2 billion dollar government operation, spend ten years Naval Intelligence, time in Ronald Reagan’s White House, doing countless oversight investigations, I have stumbled – like the blind pig finding the acorn – on a few rules that work. Here they are.
Rule One: Do the right thing, every time – even when it’s hard, when it could cost you everything, a campaign, old friends, money, job, or prestige, do not be afraid to “be the skunk at the garden party.” If you listen to your heart, you sleep better.
How did Ronald Reagan bring down the Soviet Union, Ernest Shackelton save all his men in Antarctica? What did Rudyard Kipling write? “If you can keep your head about you when others are losing theirs and blaming you …” you prevail.
And … if you end up wrong, since every decision is “made on incomplete information,” admit error and fix it, as that is also how we “do the right thing.”
Rule Two: Step up, take risks. That’s what leaders do. No good thing happens without taking a risk, so take it. Look at the situation, review facts and unknowns, decide. Every non-decision is a decision too, with second order consequences.
Rule Three: Forget your ego. Leave it at the door. Don’t make decisions based on ego or emotion. They are more often wrong than right. Separate yourself with reason. If you face criticism, and you will, do not to take it personally.
Rule Four: Be grateful… for everything. For the good stuff, be grateful; for the bad stuff too, as it teaches. In simple terms, thank the guy that opens the door, makes the coffee, sweeps the floor, the unassuming. Be grateful too for the dawn, and for living in America. Recall no one gets anywhere by themselves; we all owe others.
Rule Five: Test your limits, never stop testing. If you can, try to think like a test pilot, push the envelope … because you never know, until you try. We only become our best when we test. We are who we are from millions of Americans, inspired by their own American Dream, testing limits.
Rule Six: History is made by inches. History, success, progress of any kind is made with disciplined effort – chasing a goal, turtle not rabbit, eyes on the far horizon, seeking what lasts. People may rush you, but set your own pace, method matters.
Rule Seven: Look after your people. This is another from Reagan, and Patton. It goes back and works, every time. It is not about condescending but caring. Look after your people, and they will look after you.
Rule Eight: Accountability matters. We are imperfect, get stuff wrong. When you do, own it, be accountable. That is what leadership looks like, how we teach. We trust those who level with us, are trusted the same way. Admit, fix, move on.
Rule Nine: Anticipate, try to “look around corners.” Good military, business, political, community, and family leaders do that. Wake up thinking contingencies, what might happen, what you will do if it does, then prepare, be ready to react.
Rule 10? Rule 10 is you do not always need a Rule 10. If just nine, say so. With that, you have the formula. Go back to George Washington, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, those who do the hard thing, why America is America. We are great because we are good, and work to go from good to great. We are not an accident.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
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