The man who is denied the opportunity of taking decisions of importance begins to regard as important the decisions he is allowed to take.

Perfection of planned layout is achieved only by institutions on the point of collapse.

The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.

Make the people sovereign and the poor will use the machinery of government to dispossess the rich.

Delay is the deadliest form of denial.

It is better to be a has-been than a never-was.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

The man whose life is devoted to paperwork has lost the initiative. He is dealing with things that are brought to his notice, having ceased to notice anything for himself.

Expenditures rise to meet income.

The Law of Triviality... briefly stated, it means that the time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.

The smaller the function, the greater the management.

Expansion means complexity and complexity decay.

The man who is denied the opportunity of taking decisions of importance begins to regard as important the decisions he is allowed to take.

A committee is organic rather than mechanical in its nature: it is not a structure but a plant. It takes root and grows, it flowers, wilts, and dies, scattering the seed from which other committees will bloom in their turn.

Time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.

Men enter local politics solely as a result of being unhappily married.

When any organizational entity expands beyond 21 members, the real power will be in some smaller body.

In politics people give you what they think you deserve and deny you what they think you want.

If there is a way to delay an important decision the good bureaucracy public or private will find it.

We Finns represent a very transparent and open-minded way of reaching political decisions.

The association promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any involved in any prior decisions.

Within the last three years the amount of classified materials has doubled to 15.6 million decisions to classify documents.

The decisions and problems of Uruguay will be resolved by Uruguayans.

If you stop and think about our history, one of the reasons we had an American century and there is an American dream was because at key points in our history we made very bold decisions about making sure that there was very broad, universal access to quality education.

We know that the decisions we reach will have a profound impact on the communities hosting our military installations, and more importantly, on the people who bring those communities to life.

And yes, there's a simplicity to writing books because you're not a member of a team, so you make all the decisions yourself instead of deferring to a committee.

What I thought we ought to try to do in a book like this is to focus closely on Lincoln, himself, to see what he knew, how he knew it, how he came to make the decisions that he did, and how he implemented them.

We exercise great caution in airing an audio- or videotape released by a terrorist organization holding a hostage. These are decisions made by CNN's editorial staff and not by any third party.

I never participated in far-reaching political decisions, since I never belonged to the circle of the closest associates of Adolf Hitler, neither was I consulted by Adolf Hitler on general political questions, nor did I ever take part in conferences about such problems.

When better business decisions are made, economists won't make them.

There's no wobble in Bush. If anything, the opposite. Right after hello, the next words out of his mouth are: I've never been more convinced that the decisions I made are the right decisions.

Give people enough guidance to make the decisions you want them to make. Don't tell them what to do, but encourage them to do what is best.

The people who make policy decisions should damned well know what they are talking about before they make the decisions. There is nobody who is an expert on cloning who would be afraid after seeing Attack of the Clones.

I'm strongly for a patient Bill of Rights. Decisions ought to be made by doctors, not accountants.

This administration in Washington... clearly believes that government is not only the answer to every need but it's the most qualified to make essential decisions for every American in every area. That mix of arrogance and audacity that guides the Obama administration is an affront to every freedom-loving American.

Difficult times require difficult decisions. But supporting this bill shouldn't be a difficult decision.

A surprising number of government committees will make important decisions on fundamental matters with less attention than each individual would give to buying a suit.

We're on the verge of a financial collapse unless we balance the budget, and that means some really, really tough decisions.

There are a lot of things going on with my life right now that don't just have to do with career. So I have a hard time making decisions about work. That's really a luxury problem.

The basis of computer work is predicated on the idea that only the brain makes decisions and only the index finger does the work.

Hitler's economic revolution in Germany had reduced financial considerations to a point where they played no role in economic or political decisions.

The point of having a director is that they make the final decision; it's their point of view, they set the rhythm and they make the final decisions.

Decisions should be based on facts, objectively considered.

Love is the foundation from which your decisions about your life should be made.

All around as a person, on right decisions, on holding your money, on doing your trade, a good education is a must. I don't think I would've done as good without an education.

Peace is not the product of a victory or a command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions.

I am very proud to come back, to speak on the disinterested effort we have made and I believe that, with all due respect, that the decisions we made, when we turned our final report over to President Johnson, will stand in history.

Increasing inequality in income distribution in this country has broader policy implications, and there is also the growing problem of perverse incentives that result from executives receiving grossly disproportionate compensation based on decisions they themselves take.

Our fish, our recreation, our irrigation and all our uses of the Missouri River are threatened if the drought continues and the Corps of Engineers decisions aren't changed.