Create Yours

Top 25 Stanley McChrystal Quotes (2025 Update)

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing.”

1. “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Efficiency remains important, but the ability to adapt to complexity and continual change has become an imperative.”

2. “Efficiency remains important, but the ability to adapt to complexity and continual change has become an imperative.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “It Takes a Network to Defeat a Network.” With that, we took the first step toward an entirely new conversation.”

3. “It Takes a Network to Defeat a Network.” With that, we took the first step toward an entirely new conversation.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “The temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing. A gardening approach to leadership is anything but passive. The leader acts as an “Eyes-On, Hands-Off” enabler who creates and maintains an ecosystem in which the organization operates.”

4. “The temptation to lead as a chess master, controlling each move of the organization, must give way to an approach as a gardener, enabling rather than directing. A gardening approach to leadership is anything but passive. The leader acts as an “Eyes-On, Hands-Off” enabler who creates and maintains an ecosystem in which the organization operates.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Purpose affirms trust, trust affirms purpose, and together they forge individuals into a working team.”

5. “Purpose affirms trust, trust affirms purpose, and together they forge individuals into a working team.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Setting oneself on a predetermined course in unknown waters is the perfect way to sail straight into an iceberg.”

6. “Setting oneself on a predetermined course in unknown waters is the perfect way to sail straight into an iceberg.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Peter Drucker had a catchy statement: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing.”

7. “Peter Drucker had a catchy statement: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right thing.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “The crew’s attachment to procedure instead of purpose offers a clear example of the dangers of prizing efficiency over adaptability.”

8. “The crew’s attachment to procedure instead of purpose offers a clear example of the dangers of prizing efficiency over adaptability.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Leaders are empathetic. The best leaders I’ve seen have an uncanny ability to understand, empathize, and communicate with those they lead.”

9. “Leaders are empathetic. The best leaders I’ve seen have an uncanny ability to understand, empathize, and communicate with those they lead.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “All leaders are human. They get tired, angry, and jealous and carry the same range of emotions and frailties common to mankind.”

10. “All leaders are human. They get tired, angry, and jealous and carry the same range of emotions and frailties common to mankind.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Education is resilient, training is robust.”

11. “Education is resilient, training is robust.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “In popular culture, the term “butterfly effect” is almost always misused. It has become synonymous with “leverage” – the idea of a small thing that has a big impact, with the implication that, like a lever, it can be manipulated to a desired end. This misses the point of Lorenz’s insight. The reality is that small things in a complex system may have no effect or a massive one, and it is virtually impossible to know which will turn out to be the case.”

12. “In popular culture, the term “butterfly effect” is almost always misused. It has become synonymous with “leverage” – the idea of a small thing that has a big impact, with the implication that, like a lever, it can be manipulated to a desired end. This misses the point of Lorenz’s insight. The reality is that small things in a complex system may have no effect or a massive one, and it is virtually impossible to know which will turn out to be the case.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “I would tell my staff about the “dinosaur’s tail”: As a leader grows more senior, his bulk and tail become huge, but like the brontosaurus, his brain remains modestly small. When plans are changed and the huge beast turns, its tail often thoughtlessly knocks over people and things. That the destruction was unintentional doesn’t make it any better.”

13. “I would tell my staff about the “dinosaur’s tail”: As a leader grows more senior, his bulk and tail become huge, but like the brontosaurus, his brain remains modestly small. When plans are changed and the huge beast turns, its tail often thoughtlessly knocks over people and things. That the destruction was unintentional doesn’t make it any better.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “If I told you that you weren’t going home until we win – what would you do differently?”

14. “If I told you that you weren’t going home until we win – what would you do differently?”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “A leader’s words matter, but actions ultimately do more to reinforce or undermine the implementation of a team of teams. Instead of exploiting technology to monitor employee performance at levels that would have warmed Frederick Taylor’s heart, the leader must allow team members to monitor him. More than directing, leaders must exhibit personal transparency. This is the new ideal.”

15. “A leader’s words matter, but actions ultimately do more to reinforce or undermine the implementation of a team of teams. Instead of exploiting technology to monitor employee performance at levels that would have warmed Frederick Taylor’s heart, the leader must allow team members to monitor him. More than directing, leaders must exhibit personal transparency. This is the new ideal.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Eventually a rule of thumb emerged: “If something supports our effort, as long as it is not immoral or illegal,” you could do it. Soon, I found that the question I most often asked my force was “What do you need?” We decentralized until it made us uncomfortable, and it was right there – on the brink of instability – that we found our sweet spot.”

16. “Eventually a rule of thumb emerged: “If something supports our effort, as long as it is not immoral or illegal,” you could do it. Soon, I found that the question I most often asked my force was “What do you need?” We decentralized until it made us uncomfortable, and it was right there – on the brink of instability – that we found our sweet spot.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Building holistic awareness and forcing interaction will align purpose and create a more cohesive force, but will not unleash the full potential of the organization. Maintain this system for too long without decentralizing authority, and whatever morale gains were made will be reversed as people become frustrated with their inability to act on their new insights. Just as empowerment without sharing fails, so does sharing without empowerment.”

17. “Building holistic awareness and forcing interaction will align purpose and create a more cohesive force, but will not unleash the full potential of the organization. Maintain this system for too long without decentralizing authority, and whatever morale gains were made will be reversed as people become frustrated with their inability to act on their new insights. Just as empowerment without sharing fails, so does sharing without empowerment.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Today, a staggering 93 percent of those who work in cubicles say that they would prefer a different workspace.”

18. “Today, a staggering 93 percent of those who work in cubicles say that they would prefer a different workspace.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Organizations must be networked, not siloed, in order to succeed.”

19. “Organizations must be networked, not siloed, in order to succeed.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “As the world grows faster and more interdependent, we need to figure out ways to scale the fluidity of teams across entire organizations: groups with thousands of members that span continents, like our Task Force. But this is easier said than done.”

20. “As the world grows faster and more interdependent, we need to figure out ways to scale the fluidity of teams across entire organizations: groups with thousands of members that span continents, like our Task Force. But this is easier said than done.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Henry Mintzberg, author of The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: “Setting oneself on a predetermined course in unknown waters is the perfect way to sail straight into an iceberg.”

21. “Henry Mintzberg, author of The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning: “Setting oneself on a predetermined course in unknown waters is the perfect way to sail straight into an iceberg.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “In a leader I see it as doing those things that should be done, even when they are unpleasant, inconvenient, or dangerous; and refraining from those that shouldn’t, even when they are pleasant, easy, or safe.”

22. “In a leader I see it as doing those things that should be done, even when they are unpleasant, inconvenient, or dangerous; and refraining from those that shouldn’t, even when they are pleasant, easy, or safe.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Success is rarely the work of a single leader; leaders work best in partnership with other leaders.”

23. “Success is rarely the work of a single leader; leaders work best in partnership with other leaders.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Although we intuitively know the world has changed, most leaders reflect a model and leader development process that are sorely out of date. We often demand unrealistic levels of knowledge in leaders and force them into ineffective attempts to micromanage.”

24. “Although we intuitively know the world has changed, most leaders reflect a model and leader development process that are sorely out of date. We often demand unrealistic levels of knowledge in leaders and force them into ineffective attempts to micromanage.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “People are born; leaders are made.”

25. “People are born; leaders are made.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “The teacher who awakens and encourages in students a sense of possibility and responsibility is, to me, the ultimate leader.”

26. “The teacher who awakens and encourages in students a sense of possibility and responsibility is, to me, the ultimate leader.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “Effective leaders stir an intangible but very real desire inside people. That drive can be reflected in extraordinary courage, selfless sacrifice, and commitment.”

27. “Effective leaders stir an intangible but very real desire inside people. That drive can be reflected in extraordinary courage, selfless sacrifice, and commitment.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal Quote: “All the efficiency in the world has no value if it remains static in a volatile world.”

28. “All the efficiency in the world has no value if it remains static in a volatile world.”

— Stanley McChrystal

Motivational Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes

Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes

Positive Quotes

Positive Quotes

Albert Einstein Quotes

Albert Einstein Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Motivational Quotes

INSPIRATIONAL SUCCESS MOTIVATIONAL

Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes

Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BUSINESS INSPIRATIONAL

Positive Quotes

Positive Quotes

Albert Einstein Quotes

Albert Einstein Quotes

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BUSINESS INSPIRATIONAL

Steve Jobs Quotes

Steve Jobs Quotes

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BUSINESS APPLE

Inspirational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

COURAGE MOTIVATIONAL STRENGTH

INSPIRATIONAL SUCCESS MOTIVATIONAL

Swami Vivekananda Quotes

Swami Vivekananda Quotes

LIFE SPIRITUALITY

Save image...
Permalink
Open in new tab
Copy quote text

Beautiful Wallpapers and Images

We hope you enjoyed our collection of 25 Stanley McChrystal Quotes.

All the images on this page were created with QuoteFancy Studio.

Use QuoteFancy Studio to create high-quality images for your desktop backgrounds, blog posts, presentations, social media, videos, posters, and more.

Thank you!

Please check your email.