Incompetence Quotes

• There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance and incompetence.

  Bob Herbert

  Power, Arrogance, Mixtures

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• Useful men, who do useful things, don't mind being treated as useless.
  But the useless always judge themselves as being important and hide all their incompetence behind authority.

  Paulo Coelho

  Men, Judging, Mind

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• The problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself.

  Orrin Woodward

  Inability, Problem

  Twitter post from May 11, 2016

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• Incompetence is the true crisis.

  Albert Einstein

  Crisis

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• Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Education, Hate, Humor

  Attributed without source in "Message Passing Server Internals" by Bill Blunden, (p. 15), 2003.

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• When success and incompetence meet, disaster is not far away.

  Robert Kiyosaki

  Far Away, Disaster

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• Incompetence is often highly regarded in governmental circles.

  William Wallace

  Circles

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• Our government has become incompetent, unresponsive, corrupt. And that incompetence, ineptitude, lack of accountability is now dangerous.

  Carly Fiorina

  Government, Accountability, Ineptitude

  "The Fix 5th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant". www.washingtonpost.com. December 15, 2015.

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• Authoritarianism and secrecy breed incompetence; the two feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle. Governments with authoritarian tendencies point to what is in fact their own incompetence as the rationale for giving them yet more power.

  Josh Marshall

  Government, Two, Giving

  "I Was Finally Able". Talking Points Memo, talkingpointsmemo.com. January 17, 2006.

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• Incompetence plus incompetence equals incompetence.

  Laurence J. Peter

  Plus

  Laurence J. Peter, Raymond Hull (1969). “The Peter Principle”

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• Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy.

  Niccolo Machiavelli

  Assuming, Conspiracy

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  It has become almost a cliché to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature, but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics.

  Richard Dawkins

  Ignorance, Knowledge, Science

  "The Richard Dimbleby Lecture: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder". Lecture, BBC1 Television, November 12, 1996.

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• Everyone rises to their level of incompetence.

  Laurence J. Peter

  Funny Work, Boss, Levels

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• In an age of incompetence, I've been able to last in this crazy business. I actually know how to play my ax and write a song. That's my job.

  Billy Joel

  Birthday, Song, Jobs

  FaceBook post by Billy Joel from May 31, 2012

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• As coercive monopolies that spend other people's money taken by force, governments are uniquely unqualified to solve problems. They are riddled by ignorance, perverse incentives, incompetence and are self-serving.

  John Stossel

  Taken, Ignorance, Government

  "Don't Look to Government to Cool Down the Planet". abcnews.go.com. November 14, 2007.

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• A certain combination of incompetence and indifference can cause almost as much suffering as the most acute malevolence.

  Bruce Catton

  Stupidity, Suffering, Causes

  Bruce Catton (1984). “Bruce Catton's Civil War: three volumes in one”, Outlet

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• Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

  Isaac Asimov

  Wise, Peace, Military

  Isaac Asimov (1951). “The foundation trilogy: three classics of science fiction”

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• Secrecy breeds incompetence because where there is failure, failure is kept secret.

  Julian Assange

  Secret, Kept Secrets, Secrecy

  "Julian Assange: The Byline Interviews, Part One – ‘The God of Mass Surveillance". Interview with Seung-yoon Lee, www.byline.com. June 11, 2015.

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• The price of loyalty is incompetence.

  Jonathan Alter

  Loyalty, Government

  Jonathan Alter (2008). “Between the Lines: A View Inside American Politics, People, and Culture”

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• Incompetence is certainty in the absence of expertise. Overconfidence is certainty in the presence of expertise.

  Malcolm Gladwell

  Absence, Certainty, Overconfidence

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• I don't know what I'm doing, but my incompetence has never stopped my enthusiasm.

  Woody Allen

  Fathers Day, Enthusiasm, Best Father

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• One of the chief features of incompetence was an inability to see it in oneself.

  Kim Stanley Robinson

  Inability, Chiefs, Oneself

  Kim Stanley Robinson (2009). “Galileo's Dream”, p.380, Spectra

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• It happens; incompetence is rewarded more often than not.

  Jeff Lindsay

  Happens

  Jeff Lindsay (2005). “Darkly Dreaming Dexter”, p.25, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard

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• The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline.

  James C. Collins

  Business, Discipline, Purpose

  "No more heroes". “Madeleine Bunting's working lives column”, www.theguardian.com. November 3, 2001.

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• ...because knowledge rapidly deteriorates unless it is used constantly, maintaining within an organization an activity that is used only intermittently guarantees incompetence.

  Peter Drucker

  Organization, Guarantees, Maintaining

  Peter Drucker (2012). “Managing in the Next Society”, p.189, Routledge

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