--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can get in way more trouble with a…" description: "\"You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea, because you forget that the good idea has limits.\" — Ben Graham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg" --- # You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a… ![“You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea, because you forget that the good idea has limits.” quote by Ben Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg) > “You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea, because you forget that the good idea has limits.” [Ben Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good ideas can be more dangerous than bad ones because they create false confidence and ignore limits. **In simple terms:** Good ideas can mislead if unchecked. Key Takeaway Recognize and test limits of ideas. Themes ideas risk limits confidence critical thinking Mood cautious analytical Type Bad idea:0 Trouble Good:0 Idea Bad:0 Idea Forget:0 Idea Limits:1 When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - project planning - innovation management Key Concepts business psychology decision making Questions to Reflect On - What limits might you overlook in a promising idea? - How can you balance optimism with skepticism? A Different Perspective Good ideas still need safeguards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) [Idea Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-bad-688664/) [Idea Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-forget-2229748/) [Idea Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-limits-3185794/) [Trouble Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble-good-328344/) ## Related quotes > [No one knows what's a good idea or a bad idea until you try it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-randolph/no-one-knows-what-s-a-good-idea-or-a-bad-idea-until-you-try-it/) [Marc Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-randolph/) > [... but the pendulum has swung way out of whack here. A bad idea is still bad, and the pivot happy world we're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/but-the-pendulum-has-swung-way-out-of-whack-here-a-bad-idea-is-still/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [I think when you go into a room and you're fresh in the songwriting, producing world or going into sessions, no idea is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-flip/i-think-when-you-go-into-a-room-and-you-re-fresh-in-the-songwriting/) [G Flip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-flip/) > [My children are 12, 12, 8, and 7, which is bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, for mom going inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/my-children-are-12-12-8-and-7-which-is-bad-idea-bad-idea-bad-idea-bad/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [When developing an idea, I remind myself not to start with compromise. I envision the ideal manifestation of the idea, as if I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-echelman/when-developing-an-idea-i-remind-myself-not-to-start-with-compromise/) [Janet Echelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-echelman/) > [One of the things that I learned about myself is that I can get involved in an idea and forget, in a really terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/one-of-the-things-that-i-learned-about-myself-is-that-i-can-get/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [I know exactly how to leave you, but I have no idea how to forget you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-exactly-how-to-leave-you-but-i-have-no-idea-how-to-forget-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are limits, after all, to the idea of limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/there-are-limits-after-all-to-the-idea-of-limits/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [I have no idea what my limits are. I believe that if I set my mind to it, within the next fifteen years, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/i-have-no-idea-what-my-limits-are-i-believe-that-if-i-set-my-mind-to/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [Change is not so much about being the first one to embrace a new idea, but being the first to forget an old one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/change-is-not-so-much-about-being-the-first-one-to-embrace-a-new-idea/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“I wanted to call you. See you. You have no idea how bad I wanted to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-reinhardt/i-wanted-to-call-you-see-you-you-have-no-idea-how-bad-i-wanted-to/) [Liz Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-reinhardt/) > [Because 98 percent of our ideas are not great ideas, or everyone would be a billionaire. So yeah. That's something people have had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dax-shepard/because-98-percent-of-our-ideas-are-not-great-ideas-or-everyone-would/) [Dax Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dax-shepard/) > [“I believe we have this idea that bad things ought to be prevented from happening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bender/i-believe-we-have-this-idea-that-bad-things-ought-to-be-prevented/) [Linda Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bender/) > [“A brick could be used to float a good idea at work—especially if it’s a good idea that would be bad for you personally. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-to-float-a-good-idea-at-work-especially-if-it-s/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [With me a change of trouble is as good as a vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/with-me-a-change-of-trouble-is-as-good-as-a-vacation/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) ## More Bad idea quotes > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [One thing I know is that it is a bad idea to marry someone who had bad parents. If they hated their mother, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-gilchrist/one-thing-i-know-is-that-it-is-a-bad-idea-to-marry-someone-who-had/) [Ellen Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-gilchrist/) > [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [It's not a bad idea to call this Cthulhuism & Yog-Sothothery of mine "The Mythology of Hastur" - although it was really from Machen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/it-s-not-a-bad-idea-to-call-this-cthulhuism-yog-sothothery-of-mine/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [More than any other personality trait, my mother seemed to be ruled by anger and sadness. She seemed to hate being a mother. Watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrill-markoe/more-than-any-other-personality-trait-my-mother-seemed-to-be-ruled-by/) [Merrill Markoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrill-markoe/) > [“Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to inflict my rantings on you, even though we are destined to spend the rest of our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-willis/sorry-he-apologized-i-didn-t-mean-to-inflict-my-rantings-on-you-even/) [connie willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-willis/) > [“Jesus. Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Phoenix, L.A., and Seattle, plus two small towns she'd never heard of in the Gulf Coast region. The unit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/jesus-chicago-kansas-city-denver-phoenix-l-a-and-seattle-plus-two/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [“Civilization is an experiment, a very recent way of life in the human career, and it has a habit of walking into what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-wright/civilization-is-an-experiment-a-very-recent-way-of-life-in-the-human/) [Ronald Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-wright/) > [Idea-Advocacy Matrix highlights a couple of things: that good ideas need to be "sold" if they are ever going to see the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daly/idea-advocacy-matrix-highlights-a-couple-of-things-that-good-ideas/) [John Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daly/) > [“It is not a bad idea to get into the habbit of writing one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone else with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-colegate/it-is-not-a-bad-idea-to-get-into-the-habbit-of-writing-one-s-thoughts/) [Isabel Colegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-colegate/) > [“Medical research has revealed that in about one-tenth of the population, the liver processes alcohol differently, releasing a chemical messenger that creates the craving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylie-jones/medical-research-has-revealed-that-in-about-one-tenth-of-the/) [Kaylie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylie-jones/) > [“Sometimes I have good ideas, sometimes I have bad ideas and sometimes I have colossally bad ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-cellier/sometimes-i-have-good-ideas-sometimes-i-have-bad-ideas-and-sometimes/) [Melanie Cellier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-cellier/) > [I have done conferences explaining that cloud is a bad idea. It's putting all your eggs in one basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-demon-calce/i-have-done-conferences-explaining-that-cloud-is-a-bad-idea-it-s/) [Michael Demon Calce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-demon-calce/) > [Minimum sales prices for alcohol are a startlingly bad idea. As with excise duties, the effects are regressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/minimum-sales-prices-for-alcohol-are-a-startlingly-bad-idea-as-with/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) [Browse all 550 Bad idea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-idea/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea, because you forget that the good idea has limits.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Graham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-graham/you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-good-idea-than-a-bad-idea/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad idea" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-graham/you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-good-idea-than-a-bad-idea/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a86/ben-graham-222629_bad-idea_you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-g_2795073.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea, because you forget that the good idea has…” — Ben Graham", "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": "Ben Graham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-graham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can get in way more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-graham/you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-good-idea-than-a-bad-idea/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-graham/you-can-get-in-way-more-trouble-with-a-good-idea-than-a-bad-idea/#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 } } ] } ```