Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. This is the principle behind lotteries, dating, and religion.
Scott AdamsRead
If you want to kill an idea without being identified as the assassin, suggest that the legal department take a look at it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously suggests that bureaucratic processes can stifle creativity without direct blame.
Scott Adams cleverly critiques how organizations can suppress innovative ideas through convoluted bureaucratic measures, implying that if you want to eliminate an idea while avoiding responsibility, you can involve the legal department to cast doubt on it. This quote resonates with those who have experienced the frustrations of trying to implement new concepts in corporate or institutional settings where caution often outweighs courage.
Themes
IdeasBureaucracyCreativityHumorLaw
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting discussing new project ideas, this quote can be used to lighten the mood about how often great concepts are stalled by legal reviews.
More from Scott Adams
All quotes →My failed corporate career became the fodder for the 'Dilbert' comic. Once it became clear I would not be climbing any higher on the corporate ladder, it freed me to mock managers without worrying that it would stall my career. Most failures create some sort of unplanned freedom. I took full advantage of mine.
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Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott AdamsRead
What does it mean to be yourself?” he asked. “If it means to do what you think you ought to do, then you’re doing that already. If it means to act like you’re exempt from society’s influence, that’s the worst advice in the world; you would probably stop bathing and wearing clothes. The advice to ‘be yourself’ is obviously nonsense. But our brains accept this tripe as wisdom because it is more comfortable to believe we have a strategy for life than to believe we have no idea how to behave.
Scott AdamsRead
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