QuoteProject
It does not matter how frequently something succeeds if failure is too costly to bear.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The cost of failure is more important than the number of successes one achieves.

This quote emphasizes the importance of considering the potential repercussions of failure, suggesting that even a high success rate can be irrelevant if the failure has serious, detrimental consequences. It encourages individuals and organizations to weigh the risks involved in their pursuits, advocating for a thoughtful approach to decision-making and an awareness of what is at stake.

Themes

FailureSuccessCostWisdomRisks

In practice

Example use cases

During a business presentation to highlight the importance of risk management.

More from Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Nobody reads the disclosures that roll down your computer screen. You click 'I agree' but you don't know what you're agreeing to.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
Fragility is the quality of things that are vulnerable to volatility.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
Those who were unlucky in life in spite of their skills would eventually rise. The lucky fool might have benefited from some luck in life; over the longer run he would slowly converge to the state of a less-lucky idiot. Each one would revert to his long-term properties.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money away, and then you can live with much more freedom.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
A good maxim allows you to have the last word without even starting a conversation.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead
A Stoic is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.
Nassim Nicholas TalebRead

Similar quotes

We all carry it within us: supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted, and cannot be destroyed.
Huston SmithRead
The means that make one qualified for enquiry are meditation, yoga, etc. One should gain proficiency in these through graded practice and thus secure a stream of mental modes that is natural and helpful.
Ramana MaharshiRead
In some situations I was difficult, in odd moments impossible, in rare moments loathsome, but at my best unapproachably great.
Oscar LevantRead
Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even.
HoraceRead
Work with some men is as besetting a sin as idleness.
Samuel ButlerRead
The amount of knowledge which we can justify from evidence directly available to us can never be large. The overwhelming proportion of our factual beliefs continue therefore to be held at second hand through trusting others, and in the great majority of cases our trust is placed in the authority of comparatively few people of widely acknowledged standing.
Michael PolanyiRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb | QuoteProject