Robert S. McNamara’s Eleven Life Lessons

In “The Fog of War” (2003), former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara talks about eleven life lessons:

1. Emphasize with your enemy.
2. Rationality will not save us.
3. There’s something beyond one’s self.
4. Maximize efficiency.
5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
6. Get the data.
7. Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
8. Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
10. Never say never.
11. You can’t change human nature.

If you haven’t seen the documentary yet, do so. It’s enlightening.

Tags: Fog of war, Life lessons, Politics, Robert McNamara, Vietnam War