Our failure to properly deal with Germany and Japan early cost the world dearly later on. We dare not make the same mistake with China.

I was brought up to believe that there is no such thing as failure as long as I'm trying my best. So I've had a 'blood, guts and glory' approach through my whole life.

Well, I think first of all there was a failure to have real, clear information at our disposal. There was a real lack of situational awareness. We didn't have the capabilities on the ground to give us real-time, accurate assessments of the physical condition of the city.

My big philosophy is: Try and work with good people, because the process is your life. That's going to be really, really hard. I'm glad I learned the lesson, 'Failure is OK.'

I wish I had been more prepared, both for success and for failure, when I was younger.