How many on their deathbeds wished they'd spent more time at the office - or watching TV? The answer is, No one.
Stephen CoveyRead
If you put good people in bad systems you get bad results. You have to water the flowers you want to grow.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The effectiveness of good people is hindered by poor systems; nurturing the right environment is essential for success.
This quote emphasizes the importance of context and environment in achieving positive outcomes. Stephen Covey suggests that even capable individuals will struggle to succeed if they are placed in ineffective or harmful systems. To cultivate success, it is necessary to provide the right conditions—similar to watering flowers to ensure they thrive. This highlights the need for thoughtful leadership and system design.
Themes
LeadershipSystemsCultureSuccessEnvironment
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting discussing project failures, to explain why some initiatives fell short.
More from Stephen Covey
All quotes →If you want to have a more pleasant, cooperative teenager, be a more understanding, empathic, consistent, loving parent. If you want to have more freedom, more latitude in your job, be a more responsible, a more helpful, a more contributing employee.
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Listen with your eyes for feelings.
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If we live out of our memory, we're tied to the past and to that which is finite. When we live out of our imagination, _x000D_ we're tied to that which is infinite.
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Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people.
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Keep in mind that you are always saying "no" to something. If it isn't to the apparent and urgent things in your life, it is probably to the most fundamental, highly important things.
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