Hyman G. Rickover Short Quotes

19 Sourced Quotes

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Optimism and stupidity are nearly synonymous.

Hyman G. Rickover
Success teaches us nothing; only failure teaches.

Hyman G. Rickover
Technology can have no legitimacy unless it inflicts no harm.

Hyman G. Rickover
Thoughts arising from practical experience may be a bridle or a spur.

Hyman G. Rickover
You know that answer to that, don't you. You don't need me to tell you.

Hyman G. Rickover
How the hell are you supposed to know what God wants you to do with your life, eh?

Hyman G. Rickover
Free discussion requires an atmosphere unembarrassed by any suggestion of authority or even respect.

Hyman G. Rickover
Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.

Hyman G. Rickover
It is said that a wise man who stands firm is a statesman, and a foolish man who stands firm is a catastrophe.

Hyman G. Rickover
If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't.

Hyman G. Rickover
A system under which it takes three men to check what one is doing is not control; it is systematic strangulation.

Hyman G. Rickover
Any one detail, followed through to its source, will usually reveal the general state of readiness of the whole organization.

Hyman G. Rickover
Administration is, or ought to be, a necessary overhead to aid production, and should at all times be kept as low as possible.

Hyman G. Rickover
Above all, we should bear in mind that our liberty is not an end in itself; it is a means to win respect for human dignity for all classes of our society.

Hyman G. Rickover
Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one's arguments. Weaknesses overlooked in oral discussion become painfully obvious on the written page.

Hyman G. Rickover
Knowing more about the public effects his work will have, the engineer ought to consider himself an "officer of the court" and keep the general interest always in mind.

Hyman G. Rickover
A man, by working 24 hours a day, could multiply himself 3 times. To multiply himself more than 3 times the only recourse is to train others to take over some of his work.

Hyman G. Rickover
More than ambition, more than ability, it is rules that limit contribution; rules are the lowest common denominator of human behavior. They are a substitute for rational thought.

Hyman G. Rickover
To doubt one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized man. Don't defend past actions; what is right today may be wrong tomorrow. Don't be consistent; consistency is the refuge of fools.

Hyman G. Rickover