--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is good management and bad…" description: "\"“There is good management and bad management: good management is like air—you don’t know it’s there until it’s gone away.”\" — Charles Stross" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png" --- # There is good management and bad management: good… ![“There is good management and bad management: good management is like air—you don’t know it’s there until it’s gone away.” quote by Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png) > ““There is good management and bad management: good management is like air—you don’t know it’s there until it’s gone away.”” [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good management is invisible like air; its absence becomes painfully obvious. **In simple terms:** Good management is unseen until missing. Key Takeaway Value invisible work. Themes leadership management visibility Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical advice When to use this quote - team projects - company culture - process design - customer service Key Concepts Organizational behavior systems theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you acknowledge unseen contributions? - What signs indicate management failure? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on invisibility may neglect recognition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-management/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Good Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-management/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) ## Related quotes > [I got even with all the bad management I had by being a good manager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-principal/i-got-even-with-all-the-bad-management-i-had-by-being-a-good-manager/) [Victoria Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-principal/) > [Good people equals good management and good management equals good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/good-people-equals-good-management-and-good-management-equals-good/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Borders had lousy management and made bad corporate decisions, so its fate is less like a terrible accident than a slow-motion slide into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/borders-had-lousy-management-and-made-bad-corporate-decisions-so-its/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) > [Why, just a couple of economic seasons ago, was idle cash considered an indication of bad management or lazy management? Because it meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/why-just-a-couple-of-economic-seasons-ago-was-idle-cash-considered-an/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [There are a lot of bands and performers whose careers are permanently derailed by spectacularly bad management.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-marshall/there-are-a-lot-of-bands-and-performers-whose-careers-are-permanently/) [Amanda Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-marshall/) > [“When you give a client something for free, you send the signal that everything will be free (or at least hugely discounted). And that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-airey/when-you-give-a-client-something-for-free-you-send-the-signal-that/) [David Airey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-airey/) > [I have been rich, and I have been broke. Some of it is my fault for choosing bad management and making bad investments. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-wood/i-have-been-rich-and-i-have-been-broke-some-of-it-is-my-fault-for/) [Ronnie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-wood/) > [When Wikileaks came out... never heard of Wikileaks, never heard of it. When Wikileaks came out, all I was just saying is, "Well, look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/when-wikileaks-came-out-never-heard-of-wikileaks-never-heard-of-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/lots-of-folks-confuse-bad-management-with-destiny/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [My dad was a labour lawyer, and the ideas that I grew up with - bad management, bad capitalism, robber barons - when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/my-dad-was-a-labour-lawyer-and-the-ideas-that-i-grew-up-with-bad/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [First law of Bad Management: If something isn't working, do more of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/first-law-of-bad-management-if-something-isn-t-working-do-more-of-it/) [Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/) > [My husband was in the war of the Crimea. It is terrible the hardships he went through, to be two months without going into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gregory/my-husband-was-in-the-war-of-the-crimea-it-is-terrible-the-hardships/) [Lady Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gregory/) > [Good businesses can survive a little bad management.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/good-businesses-can-survive-a-little-bad-management/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Don't say yes until I've finished talking. - Attributed to many Hollywood executives Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/don-t-say-yes-until-i-ve-finished-talking-attributed-to-many/) [Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/) > [You can learn a lot about good management by working under someone who is a bad manager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/you-can-learn-a-lot-about-good-management-by-working-under-someone/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) ## More by Charles Stross > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Generating ideas isn't some mystical talent that you have to be born with: it's a skill you can develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/generating-ideas-isn-t-some-mystical-talent-that-you-have-to-be-born/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Any replacement to the current copyright position (life plus 70 years) needs to have an answer lined up for this, and similar, messy edge cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/any-replacement-to-the-current-copyright-position-life-plus-70-years/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“- Toma un puro, Sherlock. - Lo siento; sólo echo humo cuando me enchufan a la red eléctrica.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/toma-un-puro-sherlock-lo-siento-s-lo-echo-humo-cuando-me-enchufan-a/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“To boldly go where no uploaded metahuman colony has gone before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/to-boldly-go-where-no-uploaded-metahuman-colony-has-gone-before/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was raised thinking that moral and ethical standards are universals that apply equally to everyone. And these values aren't easily compatible with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-was-raised-thinking-that-moral-and-ethical-standards-are-universals/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Some say the Internet is for porn but you know that in truth the Internet is for spam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/some-say-the-internet-is-for-porn-but-you-know-that-in-truth-the/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [If I forget, then it might as well never have happened. Memory is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-i-forget-then-it-might-as-well-never-have-happened-memory-is/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“If he wakes the ancient sleeping horrors I am going to have to brief the private secretary and the Joint Intelligence Oversight Committee so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-he-wakes-the-ancient-sleeping-horrors-i-am-going-to-have-to-brief/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“A historian who works for a bank: That’s not the most likely background for someone who capers around the cosmos having adventures, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/a-historian-who-works-for-a-bank-that-s-not-the-most-likely/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Explore all 331 Charles Stross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More Bad man quotes > [I don't do plays without jokes anymore. I've retired from those plays. I think it's bad manners to invite people to sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-don-t-do-plays-without-jokes-anymore-i-ve-retired-from-those-plays/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [“It is said that the hallmark of a gentleman is that he is only ever rude intentionally. Arthur Bryant was no gentleman. His rudeness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fowler/it-is-said-that-the-hallmark-of-a-gentleman-is-that-he-is-only-ever/) [Christopher Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fowler/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Why, just a couple of economic seasons ago, was idle cash considered an indication of bad management or lazy management? Because it meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/why-just-a-couple-of-economic-seasons-ago-was-idle-cash-considered-an/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Terrorism is obviously on everybody's mind. The other day my son says to me, 'Daddy, how come the bad men hate us?' How sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/terrorism-is-obviously-on-everybody-s-mind-the-other-day-my-son-says/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) > [What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job? If you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-is-a-good-man-but-a-bad-man-s-teacher-what-is-a-bad-man-but-a/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [If I was to ask you tonight if you were saved? Do you say 'Yes, I am saved'. When? 'Oh so and so preached,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/if-i-was-to-ask-you-tonight-if-you-were-saved-do-you-say-yes-i-am/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [What is a good man? Simply one whose life is useful to the world. And a bad man is simply one whose life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-zhao/what-is-a-good-man-simply-one-whose-life-is-useful-to-the-world-and-a/) Zhang Zhao > [~I'm strict about manners. I think that kids have a horrible time with other people if they have bad manners… The one thing you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/i-m-strict-about-manners-i-think-that-kids-have-a-horrible-time-with/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [“He never looked at her; and yet, the careful avoidance of his eyes betokened that in some way he knew exactly where, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/he-never-looked-at-her-and-yet-the-careful-avoidance-of-his-eyes/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“As it happens, I’m a terrible dancer. Bears are simply not made for dancing. We’re much better at sitting and sleeping and singing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-macleod/as-it-happens-i-m-a-terrible-dancer-bears-are-simply-not-made-for/) [Doug MacLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-macleod/) > [The Gospel of Jesus Christ can make bad men good and good men better, can alter human nature, and can change human lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-can-make-bad-men-good-and-good-men-better/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [This self-congratulatory notion Americans have that their country is Number One is borne of ignorance and bad manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/this-self-congratulatory-notion-americans-have-that-their-country-is/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [You can learn a lot about good management by working under someone who is a bad manager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/you-can-learn-a-lot-about-good-management-by-working-under-someone/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) Browse all 410 Bad man quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is good management and bad management: good management is like air—you don’t know it’s there until it’s gone away.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Stross" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/there-is-good-management-and-bad-management-good-management-is-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/there-is-good-management-and-bad-management-good-management-is-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/charles-stross-896_bad-man_there-is-good-management-and-bad-managem_2662548.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is good management and bad management: good management is like air—you don’t know it’s there until…” — Charles Stross", "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": "Charles Stross", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is good management and bad...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/there-is-good-management-and-bad-management-good-management-is-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/there-is-good-management-and-bad-management-good-management-is-like/#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 } } ] } ```