Big Enough Quotes
See also Gerald R. Ford for a later similar expression.
Harding was arguing for party government. He may or may not have been right, but he was one of the weaker administers that held the American presidency. In addition he was not a particularly hard worker, and was more than willing to share any burdens.
He certainly was not. Every 15 or 20 years, there have been polls of historians asking them to rank the American Presidents. In every single poll, Harding has been voted the worst.
This quotation not only applies to business but also to Government programs and operations as well. Most government administrators, at the insistence of their government state goals and objectives which can be measured. Failure to make the goals of your plan has adverse consequences for the government executive—smaller budget, fewer people, less influence, promotions blocked. So most government as we; as private sector executives negotiate a plan that they can readily meet. But when the do meet the plan, the serious problems of society are still with us. They have failed in the second way. Culturally, that kind of failure is not so regarded by most and even brings praise and rewards. The first kind of failure—missing a plan that really could solve a major problem—is more negative for a person’s position and career in government and the private sector. Yet only by choosing plans that well might be missed, can we really make significant breakthroughs. See {633644} for an earlier, not as sophisticated, quotation on this theme.
