Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.
Thomas Watson, Jr.Read
The worst possible thing ... was to lie dead in the water with any problem. Solve it, solve it quickly ... If you solved it wrong, it would come back and slap you in the face, and then you could solve it right.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Avoiding problems only worsens the situation; addressing them promptly is crucial.
This quote emphasizes the importance of confronting and resolving problems quickly instead of ignoring them. Thomas Watson, Jr. suggests that though mistakes may happen in the process of solving issues, facing challenges head-on and learning from any missteps leads to better outcomes in the long run.
Themes
ProblemsSolutionCourageActionLearning
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire a team during a brainstorming session to tackle challenges with urgency.
More from Thomas Watson, Jr.
All quotes →Great design will not sell an inferior product, but it will enable a great product to achieve its maximum potential.
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If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
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Sometimes it takes more courage to get up and run than to stay. You either just do it or you don't. I got so scared the first day in combat I just decided to go along with it.
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One thing that the white man can never give the black man is self respect. The black man in the ghettos, have to start self correcting his own material moral, and spiritual defects, and evil. The black man need to start his own program to get rid of drunkenness, drug addiction and prostitution. The black man in America has to lift up his own sense of values.
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