"Merrillisms"

Phil Merrill - one of the great local newspaper and magazine publishers of Washington, D.C.
His "Merrillisms" are both legion and legend, and they're as relevant to us in new media as they were when they served his efforts with print publications. Here's a sampling:

• Two key actions: 1) Set an objective and take steps toward reaching it; 2) Extract promises and hold people to them.
• Don't announce a change, just roll it out; any decision is better than no decision.
• You don't do anyone any favors by keeping people with outdated skills around.
• Pay close attention to every person coming on the payroll. The good ones are keepers. The bad ones can be dismissed. The mediocre ones will stay forever and kill you. Mediocrity is the great enemy.
• It's better to have someone with too much fizz than not enough; you can restrain the former, but you can't add fizz to the latter.
• It's always the manager's fault when an employee has to be fired; it means you hired the wrong person.
• Power and responsibility flow to those who assume it.
• The size of the person determines the size of the job.
• Running a place isn't technical; it's about simplifying.
• Half of life is analytical; half is judgmental. But you have to do the analytical before you have the right to do the judgmental.
• You aren't thinking clearly if the issue can't be summarized in a paragraph, chart, graph, or column of numbers.
• When someone seeks your advice, try to give them advice in their best interests, not yours.
• Call the losers. No one else may be calling them when they're down, and they'll remember the courtesy when they're back on top.
• There are only so many sunny skiing and sailing days in a year; every one counts.
• Kids should be encouraged to break a rule every day.
• You'll do better in the short run if you do what's best in the long run.