At least Brown has been in the business for a couple of years. When the chain of command is incompetent or you perceive the chain of command is not in the best interest of the agency, you're duty-bound to go around that chain of command.

As long as you require the FEMA director to go through two and three levels of bureaucracy to get a decision from the president, you're going to have a major problem.

My role models in the business were the older guys on my team when I first got there: Gray Scott, Adrian Smith, Roland Taylor. These were the guys who took me under their wing, and really schooled me in terms of what the business was about.

Certain people are just saying, 'Look, I'm a businessperson and I have to run a business effectively and I want people who are going to do the job, who have the training and the education and the personality traits - the soft skills.'

There is a simple way to become buddha: When you refrain from unwholesome actions, are not attached to birth and death, and are compassionate toward all sentient beings, respectful to seniors and kind to juniors, not excluding or desiring anything, with no designing thoughts or worries, you will be called a buddha. Do not seek anything else.