“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

War As I Knew It (1947) "Reflections and Suggestions"

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." by George S. Patton?
George S. Patton photo
George S. Patton 77
United States Army general 1885–1945

Related quotes

Prevale photo

“Never do what people say, always do what your mind tells you.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Non fare mai ciò che dice la gente, fai sempre ciò che dice la tua mente.
Source: prevale.net

Gloria Estefan photo

“I do also have a couple of surprises -- which I can't tell you, because then it wouln't be a surprise. So, don't ask what the surprise is. I'm not going to tell you.”

Gloria Estefan (1957) Cuban-American singer-songwriter, actress and divorciada

comment at press conference for Februrary 9, 2007, fundraising gala benefit dinner at Gloria and Emilio Estefans' home on Star Island, near Miami, Florida (cbs4.com January 16, 2007)
2007, 2008

Jim Butcher photo
Randy Pausch photo
Dana Gould photo
Steve Jobs photo

“We hired truly great people and gave them the room to do great work. A lot of companies […] hire people to tell them what to do. We hire people to tell us what to do. We figure we're paying them all this money; their job is to figure out what to do and tell us.”

Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc.

The management philosophy here really is to give people enough rope to hang themselves. We hire people to tell us what to do. That's what we pay them for.
1990s
Source: Steve Jobs, 1996, Fresh Air radio interview by Terry Gross, npr.org http://www.npr.org/2011/10/06/141115121/steve-jobs-computer-science-is-a-liberal-art, audio 26:30/31:05
Source: Steve Jobs 1982, interview in InfoWorld March 4, 1982, p.15 books.google https://books.google.fr/books?id=gT4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15&dq=rope

Steve Jobs photo
Steve Jobs photo

“It's easy to find people to do things. What's harder is to find people to tell you what should be done.”

Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc.

Source: Lecture Steve Jobs gave in 1992 is a masterclass on conflict resolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPPpo4jv4mU

Related topics