The most damaging phrase in the language is: ‘It’s always been done that way.’
If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it a coincidence. But do it a third time and you’ve just proven a natural law!
One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.
It’s always easier to apologize for something you’ve already done than to get approval for it in advance.
We’re just getting started. We’re just beginning to meet what will be the future-we’ve got the Model T.
I had a running compiler and nobody would touch it. They told me computers could only do arithmetic.
From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.
We’ve tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.
I need something to compare this to. Could I please have a microsecond?
Some day, on the corporate balance sheet, there will be an entry which reads, “Information”; for in most cases, the information is more valuable than the hardware which processes it.
You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.
I am now going to make you a gift that will stay with you the rest of your life. For the rest of your life, every time you say, “We’ve always done it that way,” my ghost will appear and haunt you for twenty-four hours.
I’ve always been more interested in the future than in the past.
I’ve received many honors and I’m grateful for them; but I’ve already received the highest award I’ll ever receive, and that has been the privilege and honor of serving very proudly in the United States Navy.
I will not take what you need to give me. I will take what you want to give me.
We’re flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge.
If it isn’t bolted down, bring it home.
Developing a compiler was a logical move; but in matters like this, you don’t run against logic – you run against people who can’t change their minds.
Humans are allergic to change.
If it’s a good idea, go ahead and do it. It is much easier to apologise than it is to get permission.
The glass is neither half empty nor half full. It’s simply larger than it needs to be. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.