--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At headquarters, where everyone lived…" description: "\"At headquarters, where everyone lived under the tremendous pressure of responsibility, probably nothing was more welcome than a dictate from above. Tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/albert-speer-23432_being-free_at-headquarters-where-everyone-lived-und_1795864.png" --- # At headquarters, where everyone lived under the tremendous… ![“At headquarters, where everyone lived under the tremendous pressure of responsibility, probably nothing was more welcome than a dictate from above. That meant being freed of a decision and simultaneously being provided with an excuse for failure.” quote by Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/albert-speer-23432_being-free_at-headquarters-where-everyone-lived-und_1795864.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/albert-speer-23432_being-free_at-headquarters-where-everyone-lived-und_1795864.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/albert-speer-23432_being-free_at-headquarters-where-everyone-lived-und_1795864.png) > “At headquarters, where everyone lived under the tremendous pressure of responsibility, probably nothing was more welcome than a dictate from above. That meant being freed of a decision and simultaneously being provided with an excuse for failure.” [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People crave relief from responsibility; a top‑down directive offers both an excuse and a way to avoid blame. **In simple terms:** Escaping responsibility feels relieving. Key Takeaway Seek accountability instead of blame. Themes responsibility authority relief Mood anxious relieved Type advice observational When to use this quote - workplace - leadership - decision making Key Concepts psychology organizational behavior Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authority with personal accountability? - When does delegating become avoidance? A Different Perspective Reliance on excuses can erode trust and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-free/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [I try not to think about it as much when I'm working, it's more just doing my job, but I realize I have more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mendoza/i-try-not-to-think-about-it-as-much-when-i-m-working-it-s-more-just/) [Jessica Mendoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mendoza/) > [My mom is a hard worker. She puts her head down and she gets it done. And she finds a way to have fun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/my-mom-is-a-hard-worker-she-puts-her-head-down-and-she-gets-it-done/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [It's a great thing to have: that pressure everywhere you go, that responsibility. I think it's good to have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garbine-muguruza/it-s-a-great-thing-to-have-that-pressure-everywhere-you-go-that/) [Garbine Muguruza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garbine-muguruza/) > [Pressure, responsibility - I'm used to playing in big clubs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richarlison/pressure-responsibility-i-m-used-to-playing-in-big-clubs/) [Richarlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richarlison/) > [It's not pressure. It's responsibility We put it on ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-wambach/it-s-not-pressure-it-s-responsibility-we-put-it-on-ourselves/) [Abby Wambach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-wambach/) > [You cannot leave the pressure and responsibility on young people in general. Young people must enter a safe and protected environment to be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-seedorf/you-cannot-leave-the-pressure-and-responsibility-on-young-people-in/) [Clarence Seedorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-seedorf/) > [“Added pressure and responsibility should not change one's leadership style, it should merely expose that which already exists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-w-boyer/added-pressure-and-responsibility-should-not-change-one-s-leadership/) [Mark W Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-w-boyer/) > [The only excuse for failure is I am dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-only-excuse-for-failure-is-i-am-dead/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [A pitcher never gets me out. I get myself out. 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Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Let regret may not be excuse for failure.Learn how to handle rejection. If situation demands, in failure & rejection work hard even out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/let-regret-may-not-be-excuse-for-failure-learn-how-to-handle/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [When you get right down to it, one of the most important tasks of a leader is to eliminate his people's excuse for failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-townsend/when-you-get-right-down-to-it-one-of-the-most-important-tasks-of-a/) [Robert Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-townsend/) > [“We are all victims of what is done to us. We can either use that as an excuse for failure, knowing that if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dully/we-are-all-victims-of-what-is-done-to-us-we-can-either-use-that-as-an/) [Howard Dully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dully/) ## More by Albert Speer > [He was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens. People whose antecedents came from the jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/he-was-highly-annoyed-by-the-series-of-triumphs-by-the-marvelous/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [I would rather not tell you here things which every German has at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/i-would-rather-not-tell-you-here-things-which-every-german-has-at/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [“Hitler knew nothing about his enemies and even refused to use the information that was available to him. Instead, he trusted his inspirations, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/hitler-knew-nothing-about-his-enemies-and-even-refused-to-use-the/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [One seldom recognizes the devil when he is putting his hand on your shoulder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/one-seldom-recognizes-the-devil-when-he-is-putting-his-hand-on-your/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [Hitler's dictatorship was the first of an industrial estate in this age of modern technology, a dictatorship which employed to perfection the instruments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/hitler-s-dictatorship-was-the-first-of-an-industrial-estate-in-this/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [“The communications apparatus at headquarters was remarkable...It was possible to communicate directly with all important theaters of the war...They could be directed from Hitler's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/the-communications-apparatus-at-headquarters-was-remarkable-it-was/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [“As I see it today, Hitler and Goebbels were in fact molded by the mob itself, guided by its yearnings and its daydreams. 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It was the first dictatorship in the present period of modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/hitler-s-dictatorship-differed-in-one-fundamental-point-from-all-its/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [The Americans had not played a very prominent part in the war of 1914-1918, he (Adolf Hitler) thought, and moreover, had not made any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/the-americans-had-not-played-a-very-prominent-part-in-the-war-of-1914/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [One seldom recognizes the devil when he has his hand on your shoulder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/one-seldom-recognizes-the-devil-when-he-has-his-hand-on-your-shoulder/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [It is certain that concentration camps had a bad reputation with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/it-is-certain-that-concentration-camps-had-a-bad-reputation-with-us/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [In all my activities as Armament Minister I never once visited a labor camp, and cannot, therefore, give any information about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/in-all-my-activities-as-armament-minister-i-never-once-visited-a/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) [Explore all 26 Albert Speer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) ## More Being free quotes > [Life is too short to be lived in pain and sorrow. 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