--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are always more smart people…" description: "\"There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.\" — Bill Joy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg" --- # There are always more smart people outside your company… ![“There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.” quote by Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg) > “There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.” [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External talent often exceeds internal, highlighting the need for openness and collaboration beyond one’s organization. **In simple terms:** Smart people exist outside your company. Key Takeaway Seek external expertise. Themes talent collaboration external insight Mood strategic optimistic Type business inspirational When to use this quote - hiring - partnerships - industry conferences - open‑source projects Key Concepts business strategy innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate external ideas without losing internal culture? - What processes help capture outside expertise? A Different Perspective May cause over‑reliance on outsiders, ignoring internal potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Smart people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart-people/) ## Related quotes > [I can't look at 'WALL-E' or 'Finding Nemo' or 'Up' and look at in the same way as people outside of the company would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-catmull/i-can-t-look-at-wall-e-or-finding-nemo-or-up-and-look-at-in-the-same/) [Edwin Catmull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-catmull/) > [The people inside the company are the people who define GE, not the people outside the company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-flannery/the-people-inside-the-company-are-the-people-who-define-ge-not-the/) [John L. Flannery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-flannery/) > [My suggestion is that if you need someone outside your company to prepare a mission statement for you, then you really don't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/my-suggestion-is-that-if-you-need-someone-outside-your-company-to/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [A third advantage of mission oriented companies, is that people outside the company are more willing to help you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/a-third-advantage-of-mission-oriented-companies-is-that-people/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [I have huge questions about Vision Appraisal - you bet I do. I'm very worried about what happens when we hand over our destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-falcon-scott/i-have-huge-questions-about-vision-appraisal-you-bet-i-do-i-m-very/) [Robert Falcon Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-falcon-scott/) > [The dumb-manager theory of business problems just didn't hold water for me. There had to be a deeper reason why smart people would make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/the-dumb-manager-theory-of-business-problems-just-didn-t-hold-water/) [Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/) > [Being drunk leads smart people to do stupid things, which is what is so interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-williamson/being-drunk-leads-smart-people-to-do-stupid-things-which-is-what-is/) [Kit Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-williamson/) > [Smart people are no different than anyone else. Sometimes they exercise bad judgment, like we all do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-smith/smart-people-are-no-different-than-anyone-else-sometimes-they/) [Judy Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-smith/) > [I believe in smart people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-believe-in-smart-people/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/you-can-tell-how-smart-people-are-by-what-they-laugh-at/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [Smart people don't carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kishore-bansal/smart-people-don-t-carry-the-weight-of-the-world-on-their-shoulders/) [Kishore Bansal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kishore-bansal/) > [Not all smart people work at Sun Microsystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/not-all-smart-people-work-at-sun-microsystems/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [I'm a meathead. I can't help it, man. You've got smart people and you've got dumb people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/i-m-a-meathead-i-can-t-help-it-man-you-ve-got-smart-people-and-you-ve/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [Smart people duck when they hear the dread announcement 'I'm going to be perfectly honest with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/smart-people-duck-when-they-hear-the-dread-announcement-i-m-going-to/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [A lot of times when you're around really, really smart people, you don't really understand them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martellus-bennett/a-lot-of-times-when-you-re-around-really-really-smart-people-you-don/) [Martellus Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martellus-bennett/) ## More by Bill Joy > [I think the Macintosh proves that everyone can have a bitmapped display.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-think-the-macintosh-proves-that-everyone-can-have-a-bitmapped/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [I started to write a new editor not too long ago and had it about half done after two days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-started-to-write-a-new-editor-not-too-long-ago-and-had-it-about/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Interleaf is very nice. I expect there to be a lot of competition for programs like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/interleaf-is-very-nice-i-expect-there-to-be-a-lot-of-competition-for/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [I think one of the interesting things is that vi is really a mode-based editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-think-one-of-the-interesting-things-is-that-vi-is-really-a-mode/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [The next step after cheap is free, and after free is disposable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/the-next-step-after-cheap-is-free-and-after-free-is-disposable/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [“The new Pandora's boxes of genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics are almost open, yet we seem hardly to have noticed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/the-new-pandora-s-boxes-of-genetics-nanotechnology-and-robotics-are/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [I was surprised about vi going in, though, I didn't know it was in System V.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-was-surprised-about-vi-going-in-though-i-didn-t-know-it-was-in/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Not all smart people work at Sun Microsystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/not-all-smart-people-work-at-sun-microsystems/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [So Chuck and I looked at that and we hacked on em for a while, and eventually we ripped the stuff out of em…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/so-chuck-and-i-looked-at-that-and-we-hacked-on-em-for-a-while-and/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Systems are going to get a lot more sophisticated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/systems-are-going-to-get-a-lot-more-sophisticated/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Take responsibility for the things you build and invent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/take-responsibility-for-the-things-you-build-and-invent/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [The fundamental problem with vi is that it doesn't have a mouse and therefore you've got all these commands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/the-fundamental-problem-with-vi-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-a-mouse-and/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [You can't prove anything about a program written in C or FØRTRAN. It's really just Peek and Poke with some syntactic sugar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/you-can-t-prove-anything-about-a-program-written-in-c-or-f-rtran-it-s/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [I think it killed the performance on a lot of the systems in the Labs for years because everyone had their own copy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-think-it-killed-the-performance-on-a-lot-of-the-systems-in-the-labs/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Today scientists, technologists, businessmen, engineers don't have any personal responsibility for the consequences of their actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/today-scientists-technologists-businessmen-engineers-don-t-have-any/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) [Explore all 55 Bill Joy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) ## 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": "There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Joy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/there-are-always-more-smart-people-outside-your-company-than-within-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/there-are-always-more-smart-people-outside-your-company-than-within-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/bill-joy-12281_business_there-are-always-more-smart-people-outsi_2041753.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are always more smart people outside your company than within it.” — Bill Joy", "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": "Bill Joy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are always more smart people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/there-are-always-more-smart-people-outside-your-company-than-within-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/there-are-always-more-smart-people-outside-your-company-than-within-it/#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 } } ] } ```