--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In business, sir, one has no friends…" description: "\"In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents.\" — Alexandre Dumas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg" --- # In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents. ![“In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents.” quote by Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg) > “In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents.” [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Business relationships are transactional, lacking true friendship. **In simple terms:** Business is about transactions, not friendships Key Takeaway Treat contacts as professional allies. Themes business relationships transactional Mood pragmatic detached Type professional philosophical When to use this quote - corporate negotiations - client management - team projects Key Concepts networking professionalism Questions to Reflect On - Can true friendship exist in business? - How to balance trust and transaction? A Different Perspective Overlooks the value of genuine trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business Sir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-sir-1629527/) [Correspondents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correspondents/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friends Correspondents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-correspondents-1629526/) [No friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-friends/) [Sir Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sir-friends-1629528/) ## Related quotes > [“Think of the inconvenience of vanishing as it were from your friends and, correspondents three times in one's natural life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/think-of-the-inconvenience-of-vanishing-as-it-were-from-your-friends/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [You try to tell me anything about the newspaper business! Sir, I have been through it from Alpha to Omaha, and I tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-try-to-tell-me-anything-about-the-newspaper-business-sir-i-have/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The bit that one eates, no friend makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-bit-that-one-eates-no-friend-makes/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I am a member of that small, little group that covers - I'm a member of the White House correspondents association. I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-a-member-of-that-small-little-group-that-covers-i-m-a-member-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Do you know what White House correspondents call actors who pose as reporters? Anchors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/do-you-know-what-white-house-correspondents-call-actors-who-pose-as/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Women are the only correspondents to be depended on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/women-are-the-only-correspondents-to-be-depended-on/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Most correspondents came from the former colonial powers - there were British, French, and a lot of Italians, because there were a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/most-correspondents-came-from-the-former-colonial-powers-there-were/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [“The truck takes off again on Jalan 15 Oktober, in a cloud of dust, papers and tatters. A half-naked boy, coming out of nowhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-lupis/the-truck-takes-off-again-on-jalan-15-oktober-in-a-cloud-of-dust/) [Marco Lupis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-lupis/) > [I do not speak for the White House correspondents association. I'm not a member.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-press/i-do-not-speak-for-the-white-house-correspondents-association-i-m-not/) [Bill Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-press/) > [“We are woken gently at three in the morning and told that we need to leave. Guided by the light of the stars rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-lupis/we-are-woken-gently-at-three-in-the-morning-and-told-that-we-need-to/) [Marco Lupis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-lupis/) > [Most national correspondents will tell you they rely on stringers and researchers and interns and clerks and news assistants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/most-national-correspondents-will-tell-you-they-rely-on-stringers-and/) [Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/) > [“Interestingly, relatively few of my correspondents were of the variety familiar to most authors, the users of block capitals and red ink.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sheffield/interestingly-relatively-few-of-my-correspondents-were-of-the-variety/) [Gary Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sheffield/) > [“My fellow journalists called themselves correspondents; I preferred the title of reporter. I wrote what I saw. I took no action-even an opinion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/my-fellow-journalists-called-themselves-correspondents-i-preferred/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [There are many great outlets that we love and respect, but 'The North Star' really is going to be a hard news outlet with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/there-are-many-great-outlets-that-we-love-and-respect-but-the-north/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [“it may be added that the press is apt to favour the enemy, for the war correspondents are generally all on the side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-callwell/it-may-be-added-that-the-press-is-apt-to-favour-the-enemy-for-the-war/) [Charles Edward Callwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-callwell/) ## More by Alexandre Dumas > [“What is the sense in recriminations about things over which the will of God itself is powerless? God can change the future, He cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-is-the-sense-in-recriminations-about-things-over-which-the-will/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [There is no friendship that cares about an overheard secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-no-friendship-that-cares-about-an-overheard-secret/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Darling, replied Valentine, has not the count just told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words,- "Wait and hope"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/darling-replied-valentine-has-not-the-count-just-told-us-that-all/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“when you have the honour to find yourself in the company of ordinary men and the good fortune to be out of politics for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/when-you-have-the-honour-to-find-yourself-in-the-company-of-ordinary/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“He rose in his turn, and seizing handfuls of confetti and sweetmeats, with which the carriage was filled, cast them with all the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-rose-in-his-turn-and-seizing-handfuls-of-confetti-and-sweetmeats/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Speak on, madame, speak on, Queen," said Buckingham; "the sweetness of your voice covers the harshness of your words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/speak-on-madame-speak-on-queen-said-buckingham-the-sweetness-of-your/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“On the 24th of February, 1810, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/on-the-24th-of-february-1810-the-look-out-at-notre-dame-de-la-garde/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“what despair to see a woman one loves longing for those thousand nothings from which women compose their happiness, and to be unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-despair-to-see-a-woman-one-loves-longing-for-those-thousand/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-am-not-proud-but-i-am-happy-and-happiness-blinds-i-think-more-than/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [For there are two distinct sorts of ideas: Those that proceed from the head and those that emanate from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/for-there-are-two-distinct-sorts-of-ideas-those-that-proceed-from-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Besides, what is required of a young man in Paris? To speak its language tolerably, to make a good appearance, to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/besides-what-is-required-of-a-young-man-in-paris-to-speak-its/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Carry your sorrow inside you as the cloud conceals ruin and death like a deadly secret that is understood only when the storm breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/carry-your-sorrow-inside-you-as-the-cloud-conceals-ruin-and-death/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“What fragile and unknown threads the destinies of nations and the lives of men are suspended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-fragile-and-unknown-threads-the-destinies-of-nations-and-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) [Explore all 473 Alexandre Dumas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandre Dumas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only-correspondents/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only-correspondents/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/076/alexandre-dumas-436_business_in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only_943554.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents.” — Alexandre Dumas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexandre Dumas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In business, sir, one has no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only-correspondents/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/in-business-sir-one-has-no-friends-only-correspondents/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```