“Loose systems last longer and function better.”

—  John Gall

Source: General systemantics, an essay on how systems work, and especially how they fail..., 1975, p. 93. cited: Paul F. Downton (2008) Ecopolis: Architecture and Cities for a Changing Climate. p. 580

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Loose systems last longer and function better." by John Gall?
John Gall photo
John Gall 13
American physician 1925–2014

Related quotes

“As a nation we are, however, slowly accepting the fact that the loose-jointed, easy-going, somewhat irresponsible system of administration which we carried over from our rural, agricultural background is no longer adequate for present and future needs.”

Leonard D. White (1891–1958) American historian

Source: Introduction to the Study of Public Administration, 1926, p. viii (in 1939 edition), as cited in: Moynihan (2009)

Gerrit Blaauw photo

“The architecture of a system can be defined as the functional appearance of the system to the user.”

Gerrit Blaauw (1924–2018) Dutch computer scientist

Blaauw (1972) cited in: Gerritt A Blaauw (1976) Digital system implementation. p. 6

Kenneth N. Waltz photo

“No system of balance functions automatically.”

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter VII, Some Implications Of The Third Image, p. 210

Martin Luther photo

“The Law continues to exist and to function. But it no longer exists for me.”

Martin Luther (1483–1546) seminal figure in Protestant Reformation

Source: Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), Chapter 2, Verse 19

Ervin László photo

“Economic systems come, and economic systems go. No economic system lasts forever. Capitalism is not likely to last forever, either.”

Jim Stanford (1961) Canadian economist

Part 1, Chapter 3, Economic History, p. 43
Economics For Everyone (2008)

Karl Polanyi photo

“The economic system is, in effect, a mere function of social organization.”

The Great Transformation (1944), Ch. 4 : Societies and Economic Systems

Michael Halliday photo

“The grammatical system has … a functional input and a structural output; it provides the mechanism for different functions to be combined in one utterance”

Michael Halliday (1925–2018) Australian linguist

Source: 1970s and later, Explorations in the functions of language, 1973, p. 35 cited in: Terence Odlin (1994) Perspectives on Pedagogical Grammar. p. 193.

Related topics