Politics & Power Quote by Donald Rumsfeld

Power, in Washington, doesn’t just come from proximity; it comes from the credible threat of walking away. Rumsfeld’s line is a management memo disguised as a moral lesson: if you can resign, you’re no longer a supplicant. You become a player with leverage. The President may be the apex, but even apexes respond to scarcity and risk. A subordinate who can’t leave is a subordinate who can be ignored, overloaded, or used as a shield.

The intent is practical, almost cold: cultivate optionality. When your continued presence isn’t guaranteed, your advice carries a different weight. It signals confidence in your judgment and independence from the job’s narcotic perks. That independence changes the internal physics of a room: you can deliver bad news, resist bad orders, and negotiate resources without the anxious flattery that corrodes decision-making.

The subtext is more revealing. “Resign” isn’t just an employment action; it’s a psychological posture. Rumsfeld is recommending a self-administered antidote to careerism: act as if your identity isn’t fused to the position. That does “wonders for your performance” because it reduces the fear that makes people timid, obedient, and strategically vague.

Context matters: Rumsfeld came up in an era of tight executive power, where loyalty is prized but unvarnished counsel is essential to avoid catastrophe. The irony is that this advice can either protect a President from groupthink or, in the wrong hands, become a tool for hardball bureaucratic dominance. In Washington, principled independence and tactical brinkmanship often wear the same suit.