Quotes & Sayings About Giving Orders

People would say you look weak if you're not cursing the opposition and driving around in a big black car while always wearing a tie. Above all, to be 'strong' you're always supposed to be giving orders. — George Papandreou

Before I entered the service, all I did was take orders. Next thing I knew, I was giving them.
Peacetime was one thing. Got a lot of wise guy recruits. But then the war started and the new men flooded in- young men, like you- and they were all saluting me, wanting me to tell them what to do. I could see the fear in their eyes. They acted as if I knew something about war that was classified. They thought I could keep them alive. You did too, didn't you?'
Eddie had to admit he did.
The Captain reached back and rubbed his neck. 'I couldn't, of course. I took my orders, too. But if I couldn't keep you alive, I thought I could at least keep you together. In the middle of a big war, you go looking for a small idea to believe in. When you find one, you hold it the way a soldier holds his crucifix when he's praying in a foxhole.
For me, that little idea was what I told you guys every day. No one gets left behind. — Mitch Albom

One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and on the other hand one cannot be a good historian of this inner life without taking into account outward events where these are relevant. They are two orders of fact which reflect each other, which are always linked and which sometimes provoke each other. — Victor Hugo

A good jockey doesn't need orders and a bad jockey couldn't carry them out anyway; so it's best not to give them any. — Lester Piggott

The only thing in this world that gives orders is balls. — Al Pacino

Over-optimism - in that she thinks men are better than they are, she doesn't really understand them and is generous about it. Over-confidence - in that she thinks she can do more than an individual actually can. She thinks she can run a railroad (or the world) single-handed, she can make people do what she wants or needs, what is right, by the sheer force of her own talent; not by forcing them, of course, not by enslaving them and giving orders - but by the sheer over-abundance of her own energy; she will show them how, she can teach them and persuade them, she is so able that they'll catch it from her. — Ayn Rand

When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact ... I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. — Henry Morgenthau, Sr.

According to [the Bible], a leader is first and foremost a servant. His concern is not for himself; his concern is not to give orders, to boss other people around, to have his own way. His concern is to meet the needs of others. — Wayne Mack

You are like a captain navigating a ship ... You must give the right orders, thoughts and images to your subconscious which controls and governs all your experiences. — Joseph Murphy

A group of pastors was attending a conference at our church, and at the end of the first morning session, they headed to the fellowship center for lunch. Several minutes later I followed, expecting that they would already be seated. Much to my surprise, all one hundred fifty of them were lined up outside the door. Then I saw why. At the head of the line stood Joel, my then six-year-old, with both hands raised, giving orders. "It will be a couple more minutes and then they'll be ready for you!" Joel had no clue what was going on, but he gave directions with the greatest of confidence and these pastors did as they were told. Confidence is contagious even if it's the confidence of a six-year-old. The — John C. Maxwell

A passenger isn't supposed to concern himself with the running of the ship; that is being taken care of by the crew, anonymous creatures down in the engine-room or up on deck, whom he never meets. But, in this case, I wasn't really a passenger. I was like a lazy or scared or drunken captain lying shut in his cabin when he ought to be on the bridge, giving orders. Sooner or later, I would have to come out and assume command and decide where we were going.
But not yet, I told the crew. You don't need me yet. Can't you see I'm sick? You're doing all right without me. Sure, I'll come, when we get near land. Just let me lie here a little longer. Leave me alone, can't you? Let me sleep. — Christopher Isherwood

Nulle cre ature humaine ne peut commander a' l'amour. No human being can give orders to love. — Sydney Samuelson

Jose loved giving orders to the servants, and they loved obeying her. She always made them feel they were taking part in some drama. — Katherine Mansfield

In the Brave New World of my prophetic fable technology had advanced far beyond the point it had reached in Hitler's day; consequently the recipients of orders were far less critical than their Nazi counterparts, far more obedient to the order-giving elite. — Aldous Huxley

I will have clients rather than people who just give me orders — Francis Ayer

You cannot serve people by giving them orders as to what to do. The real servant of the people must live among them, think with them, feel for them, and die for them ... The servant of the people, unlike the leader, is not on a high horse trying to carry the people to some designated point to which he would like to go for his own advantage. The servant of the people is down among them, living as they live, doing what they do and enjoying what they enjoy. He may be a little better informed than some of the other members of the group; it may be that he as had some experience they have not had, but in spite of this advantage he should have more humility than those whom he serves. — Carter G. Woodson

Darius glided toward Tempest in his silent, intimidating way. "You are going to bed now, honey. I will not listen to any arguments." Tempest was already lying down. "Does anyone else besides me ever get the urge to throw things at you?" She sounded drowsy, not combative. Darius hunkered down beside her so he was at eye level with her. "I do not think so. If they do, they do not have the audacity to tell me." "Well, I think throwing something at you is the only way to go," Tempest told him. Her eyes were already closing, and her voice was weary and sad despite her heavy words. Darius stroked the wealth of red-gold hair away from her face, his fingers soothing her scalp. "Do you? Maybe tomorrow might be a better time to try it." "I have a very good aim," she warned him. "It would be easier on you if you just quit giving me orders." "That would ruin my reputation," he objected. A smile curved the corners of her mouth, emphasizing the thin red cut at the side of her lip. — Christine Feehan

Leadership doesn't mean giving marching orders that others must follow blindly. Rather, it means causing others to want to follow. Successful leadership is personal. — Pat Heim

Alcenith Crawford (a divorced ophthalmologist): We women doctors have un-happy marriages because in our minds we are the superstars of our families. Having survived the hardship of medical school we expect to reap our rewards at home. We had to assert ourselves against all odds and when we finally graduate there are few shrinking violets amongst us. It takes a special man to be able to cope. Men like to feel important and be the undisputed head of the family. A man does not enjoy waiting for his wife while she performs life-saving operations. He expects her and their children to revolve around his needs, not the other way. But we have become accustomed to giving orders in hospitals and having them obeyed. Once home, it's difficult to adjust. Moreover, we often earn more than our husbands. It takes a generous and exceptional man to forgive all that. — Adeline Yen Mah

Many rules could be made for the giving of orders. Don't preach when you give orders. Don't discuss matters already settled unless you have fresh data. Make your direction so specific that there will be no question whether they have been obeyed or not. Find out how to give directions and yet to allow people opportunity for independent thinking, for initiative. And so on and so on. Order-giving requires just as much study and just as much training as any other skill we wish to acquire. — Mary Parker Follett

The art of giving orders is not to try to rectify the minor blunders and not be swayed by petty doubts. — Sun Tzu

The writer doesn't want to disclose or instruct or advocate, he wants to transmute and disturb. He cherishes the mystery, he cares for it like a fugitive in his cabin, his cave. He
doesn't want to talk it into giving itself up. He would never turn it in to the authorities, the mass mind. The writer is somewhat of a fugitive himself, actually. He wants to escape his time, the obligations of his time, and, by writing, transcend
them. The writer does not like to follow orders, not even the orders of his own organizing intellect. — Joy Williams

If for one whole day, quietly and determinedly, we were to give ourselves up to the ownership of Jesus and to obeying his orders, we should be amazed at its close to realize all he had packed into that one day. — Oswald Chambers

I'm a romanticist in many ways. I never get behind the wheel of my boat and dropping the anchor without saying to myself, secretly giving my orders to the crew "All right, lift the anchor, we're on our way to South Hampton. We're gonna beat them there with this load of tea!" — Walter Cronkite

Giving me orders already? I like that. Makes me feel like a boy toy. — Lauren Blakely

Leadership isn't just about giving orders. A fool can give orders. A leader listens. He changes his mind. He acknowledges mistakes. — Brian Staveley

Earthly authority displays itself in giving orders, in magnificent apparel, in hordes of servitors, in sycophantic addresses; the authority of Jesus disposes of is, by contrast, spiritual, and expresses itself in serving, not being served, in seeking to be the least instead of the greatest, the last instead of the first, in finding wisdom in the innocence of children and truth in the foolishness of men rather than in those who pass for being sagacious and experienced in the world's ways. When we want to adulate men, we say they are godlike; but when God became Man, it was in the lineaments of the least of men. — Malcolm Muggeridge

The clear suggestion is that there ought not to be civilian control of the military. What have callow noncombatants giving brisk orders to grizzled soldiers? How could Lincoln have fired the slavery-loving Gen. George B. McClellan, or Truman dismissed the glorious Douglas MacArthur? — Christopher Hitchens

St. Augustine and St. Thomas define mortal sin to be a turning away from God: that is, the turning of one's back upon God, leaving the Creator for the sake of the creature. What punishment would that subject deserve who, while his king was giving him a command, contemptuously turned his back upon him to go and transgress his orders? This is what the sinner does; and this is punished in hell with the pain of loss, that is, the loss of God, a punishment richly deserved by him who in this life turns his back upon his sovereign good. — Alphonsus Liguori

Leadership is not just about giving orders. It's about being prepared to put your body and soul on the line to protect those who look to you for command. Any leader who won't isn't worth the name. — Mina Carter

The priestly vocation is essentially a call to sanctity, in the form that derives from the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Sanctity is intimacy with God; it is the imitation of Christ, poor, chaste and humble; it is unreserved love for souls and self-giving to their true good; it is love for the church which is holy and wants us to be holy, because such is the mission that Christ has entrusted to it. Each one of you must be holy also in order to help your brothers pursue their vocation to sanctity. — Pope John Paul I

The cabinet has no propositions to make, but orders to give. — Charles De Gaulle

He whispered for her ears only as he listed off the facts: "Military are allowed a larger portion. Being second in command restricts me from no room and giving orders is what I've been hired to do. As far as ignoring you, that is not the case. I've checked up on you, and you are doing well. My intentions have never been to harm you or insult you. You actually are quite breathtaking in that dress and that is the problem, you need not draw attention to yourself. You are my responsibility and the answer to 'why' will always be because I have to. — Jettie Necole

Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. — Dale Carnegie

He won't be giving fucking orders for much longer," Auric growled reading my mind. He slipped out of bed to pull on some clothes. I loved it when he got all protective. I rolled on my stomach and watched him hide his yummy flesh with clothing - wrapping paper, as I called it - that always seemed to beg to be torn off. "What are you going to do?" "Tear his limbs from him one at a time and then finish him off permanently." Say what you would, when my consort went all tough ass alpha, it was freaking hot. "Mmm, say that again," I purred. — Eve Langlais

Following orders is right. Giving orders for the wrong reasons isn't. — Aleksandr Voinov

If all individuals were conditioned to machine efficiency in the performance of their duties there would have to be at least one person outside the machine to give the necessary orders; if the machine absorbed or eliminated all those outside the machine, the machine will slow down and stop forever. — William S. Burroughs

Take advice, but not orders. Only give yourself orders. Abraham Lincoln once said, 'Since I will be no one's slave, I will be no one's master.' — Jim Rohn

There he is then, the unfortunate brute, quite miserable because of me, for whom there is nothing to be done, and he so anxious to help, so used to giving orders and to being obeyed. There he is, ever since I came into the world, possibly at his instigation, I wouldn't put it past him, commanding me to be well, you know, in every way, no complaints at all, with as much success as if he were shouting at a lump of inanimate matter. — Samuel Beckett

She cannot remember her mother's face ... This is the woman who brought her into the world ... This is the woman her father loved. Yet every time she turns her mind's eye in her mother's direction she sees only the men she is talking to, the children she is playing with, the maids to whom she is giving orders ... She begins to realise how alike they are, she and her mother, these blank sheets on which men have written their stories, the white space between the words, making all their achievements possible and contributing nothing to the meaning. — Mark Haddon

Boundary construction is most evident in three-year-olds. Boundary construction is most evident in three-year-olds. By this time, they should have mastered the following tasks:

1. The ability to be emotionally attached to others, yet without giving up a sense of self and one's freedom to be apart,

2. The ability to say appropriate no's to others without fear of loss of love,

3. The ability to take appropriate no's from others without withdrawing emotionally.

Noting these tasks, a friend said half-joking, "They need to learn this by age three? How about by fourty-three?" Yes, these are tall orders but boundary development is essential in the early years of life. — Henry Cloud

She scowled. "Take the jeans off." The corners of his mouth lifted in a sensual smile. "Is my submissive giving orders? — Lia Davis

Then now, Thrasymachus, there is no longer any doubt that neither arts nor governments provide for their own interests; but, as we were before saying, they rule and provide for the interests of their subjects who are the weaker and not the stronger - to their good they attend and not to the good of the superior. And this is the reason, my dear Thrasymachus, why, as I was just now saying, no one is willing to govern; because no one likes to take in hand the reformation of evils which are not his concern without remuneration. For, in the execution of his work, and in giving his orders to another, the true artist does not regard his own interest, but always that of his subjects; and therefore in order that rulers may be willing to rule, they must be paid in one of three modes of payment, money, or honour, or a penalty for refusing. What — Plato

All my life I have risen regularly at four o'clock and have gone into the woods and talked to God. There He gives me my orders for the day. — George Washington Carver

Dammit, white folk are always giving orders, it's a habit with them. Why didn't you make an excuse? You're black and living in the South
did you forget how to lie? — Ralph Ellison

But these self-appointed teachers lack personal experience, and do not even listen when others speak to them. Relying solely on their own self-assurance, they order their brethren to wait on them like slaves. They glory in this one thing: to have many disciples. Their main objective is to ensure that, when they go about in public, their retinue of followers is no smaller than those of their rivals. They behave like mountebanks rather than teachers. They think nothing of giving orders, however burdensome, but they fail to teach others by their own conduct. Thus they make their purpose obvious to all: they have insinuated themselves into a position of leadership, not for the benefit of their disciples, but to promote their own pleasure. — Kallistos Ware

Corporations are totalitarian institutions. Board of directors at the top of managers give orders, everyone follows orders ... At the very bottom of command, if you are lucky you can rent yourself to it and get a job , and if you are sufficiently propagandized you may even buy some of the junk they produce and so on ... — Noam Chomsky

I think I could totally be a gangster, but I could never be the kind of gangster that carries things out myself. I would have to be the kingpin that has my minions go and do the dirty bidding. I think I'd be pretty good at giving orders. — Elena Satine

I feel myself inhabited by a force or being
very little known to me. It gives the orders; I follow. — Jean Cocteau

The only question is whether they're going to get caught, and so far, the answer's been 'no.' Things are chaotic. No one knows exactly what's going on, and the people carrying out the orders aren't the ones giving them. As long as no one ever gives the order that says 'let those people die, they don't matter,' nothing illegal is being done. — Mira Grant

[W]e will do what we like with the bourgeoisie ... We give the orders; they do what they are told. Any resistance will be broken ruthlessly. — Adolf Hitler

Some people giving orders and others obeying them: this is the essence of servitude. Of course, as Hospers smugly observes, "one can at least change jobs," but you can't avoid having a job - just as under statism one can at least change nationalities but you can't avoid subjection to one nation-state or another. But freedom means more than the right to change masters. — Bob Black

I can see ye're in a mood to be bossy. I suppose since ye're a laird ye must be used to giving orders and having them obeyed. I'll oblige ye this once, but in future, I will continue to question ye. — Eliza Knight

You'll find I'm remarkably good at giving orders, and particularly awful at following them. — Victoria Aveyard

I realize that as the quarterback, you have to assume some sort of leadership role because you have to talk in the huddle on every play, and you're essentially giving out orders to the team. But in my mind, I have to prove myself on the field before I can start asserting a leadership role. — Andrew Luck

Giving and taking of orders modifies actions and results, but does not of itself effect a sharing of purposes, a communication of interests. — John Dewey

How long did they stay there in that room, on the narrow bed? She had a scar on her shoulder, in the shape of a star, that Louis couldn't help but run his lips over. A souvenir of a fall from a horse. It got dark. They could hear the clattering of hooves, a whinny, and the high-pitched voice of the marquis giving orders at more and more distant intervals, like a motif on a flute, clear and desolate, returning again and again. — Patrick Modiano

Inequality of wealth and incomes is an essential feature of the market economy. It is the implement that makes the consumers supreme in giving them the power to force all those engaged in production to comply with their orders. It forces all those engaged in production to the utmost exertion in the service of the consumers. It makes competition work. He who best serves the consumers profits most and accumulates
riches. — Ludwig Von Mises

You still haven't told me why you left the cabin when I specifically told you to stay there."
Her chin dropped, and her eyebrows lifted, giving her the most smart-ass expression he'd ever seen. "I guess the simples answer is that I don't fucking take orders from you."
Dage snorted and busied himself with his phone again, not looking at either of them. "You should just mate her and get it over with," he mused. — Rebecca Zanetti

You are always dragging me down,' said I to my Body. 'Dragging _you_ down!' replied my Body. 'Well I like that! Who taught me to like tobacco and alcohol? You, of course, with your idiotic adolescent idea of being "grown up". My palate loathed both at first: but you would have your way. Who put an end to all those angry and revengeful thoughts last night? Me, of course, by insisting on going to sleep. Who does his best to keep you from talking too much and eating too much by giving you dry throats and headaches and indigestion? Eh?' 'And what about sex?' said I. 'Yes, what about it?' retorted the Body. 'If you and your wretched imagination would leave me alone I'd give you no trouble. That's Soul all over; you give me orders and then blame me for carrying them out. — C.S. Lewis

Great leadership is not about giving orders, it's about taking others — Saji Ijiyemi

Being an adult child was an awkward, inevitable position. You went about your business in the world: tooling around, giving orders, being taken seriously, but there were still these two people lurking somewhere who in a split second could reduce you to nothing. In their presence, you were a big-headed baby again, crawling instead of walking. — Meg Wolitzer

Her husband was not malicious, but he did bully, though without anger or animosity, as do petty tyrants who think that giving orders means swearing. In front of any stranger he behaved himself, but in his family he let himself go and pretended to be terrible although he was really scared of everybody. — Guy De Maupassant

Who is giving the orders to ants? No one. They are self-organizing. Each of our immune systems get smarter over the years as its biochemical parts share information, and it responds with individualized defenses, but it isn't conscious and it has no memory. The host of that party didn't decree that everyone would gather in the kitchen, but it happened anyway. Emergence means we sometimes act in concert for better or worse. — Steven Johnson

It is not enough to give orders they must be obeyed. — Napoleon Bonaparte

Giving orders you know won't be obeyed is one of the best ways I know to destroy your own authority. — David Weber

Hey, you know what else I don't care about? You giving me orders. — Anna Banks

Mom's new husband was eleven years older than Mom. He had been Mom's boss at the Buick dealership where she'd worked until they were married, and you could see that he was still Mom's boss - the way he spoke to her, not exactly giving orders, never forgetting to say Please but in a tone of voice that meant there was no negotiating. Of — Joyce Carol Oates

Although our moral conscience is a part of our consciousness, we do not feel ourselves on an equality with it. In this voice which makes itself heard only to give us orders and establish prohibitions, we cannot recognize our own voices; the very tone in which it speaks to us warns us that it expresses something within us that is not of ourselves. — Emile Durkheim

I can do this," [Daemon] crooned, slowly circling around her. "I can keep Dorothea and Hekatah off-balance enough to keep the others safe and also prevent those Ladies from giving the orders to send the Terreillean armies into Kaeleer. I can buy you seventy-two hours, Jaenelle. But it's going to cost me because I'm going to do things I may never be forgiven for, so I want something in return." He could taste her slight bafflement before she said, "All right."
"I don't want to wear the Consort's ring anymore." A slash of pain, quickly stifled.
"All right."
"I want a wedding ring in its place." A flash of joy, immediately followed by sorrow. She smiled at him at the same time her eyes filled with tears. "It would be wonderful." She meant that. — Anne Bishop

Your orders are charming; your manner of giving them still more delightful; you would make tyranny itself adored. — Pierre-Ambroise Choderlos De Laclos

Everybody wants attention and admiration. Nobody wants to be criticized. The sweetest sound in the English language is the sound of a person's own name. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly. Let the other person save face. — Alice Schroeder

I see it all through the lens of my camera - the flurry of movement, the venue staff in black T-shirts, giving orders into their headsets. As I take it all in, my mind weighs the texture, the composition, the possibility of each changing scene, and I struggle to hold back, to keep my finger from pressing too soon. That's my biggest flaw as a photographer. I'm impatient - trigger-happy. I want the shot now, now, now, click, click, click, and if I could just wait a second more, the moment would really flourish. — Emery Lord

Hey! One of Edilio's soldiers just came staggering in from the gas station. He says someone attacked, took the place over."
That silenced the argument.
Sam, with exquisite contempt, turned to his girlfriend and said, "You want to go deal with it, Astrid?"
Astrid flushed red.
"No? I didn't think so. Guess it will be up to me then."
He left silence in his wake.
"Maybe we better pass some laws real quick so Sam can save our butts legally," Howard said.
"Howard, go get Orc," Albert said.
"Now you're giving me orders, Albert?" Howard shook his head. "I don't think so. Not you or her," he said, jerking a thumb at Astrid. "You may not think much of me, you two, but at least I know who saves our butts. And if I got to take orders from someone, it'll be the someone who just walked out of here. — Michael Grant

Hey, baby." His voice is low and sensual and now I'm even more angry - this time at myself for letting the caress of his voice shift me from my mission. I rally and speak very firmly and clearly. "Would you please tell Edward that he doesn't have to take me straight home? He seems to be under the impression that you were giving orders and not just telling him a destination." The pause before he answers is ominous. "You need to be ready at six. It's already past two. You need to rest." "What the fuck?" I snap. "Are you my mother?" "It's been a long day, baby. — J. Kenner

Don't talk about death, I've got too much life to live, To many orders to give. — Ice Cube

Begin with praise and honest appreciation. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. Make the fault easy to correct. Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest. — Dale Carnegie

If it's just you sharing your feelings, perhaps you can voice it less like an order," I suggested.

"I'm used to giving orders and if it sounds like one then there's always a chance you'll obey. — Kristen Ashley

It's not okay to send a feeble kid out to fight our battles, and it's not okay to push people around like pawns on a fuckin chessboard and it's not okay giving orders to kill like a Mafia boss. — Stephen King

When you kneel in prayer, don't give God orders, just report to your Commander in Chief for duty. — Michael Catt

The place where [adults] pass the most time and submit to the closest control is at work. Thus, without even entering into the question of the world economy's ultimate dictation within narrow limits of everybody's productive activity, it's apparent that the source of the greatest direct duress experienced by the ordinary adult is _not_ the state but rather the business that employs him. Your foreman or supervisor gives you more or-else orders in a week than the police do in a decade. — Bob Black