--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to get big things done…" description: "\"In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the shells.\" — Charlie Pierce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png" --- # In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents… ![“In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the shells.” quote by Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png) > “In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the shells.” [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders sometimes must maneuver subtly to achieve big goals. **In simple terms:** Leaders use subtle tactics for big results. Key Takeaway Master strategic subtlety. Themes leadership strategy politics Mood critical strategic Type political analytical When to use this quote - political maneuvering - crisis management Key Concepts power dynamics decision making Questions to Reflect On - When is manipulation justified? - How do we balance transparency with effectiveness? A Different Perspective Subtle tactics can be ethically ambiguous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-things/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Presidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidents/) ## Related quotes > [I think we've had two presidents in a row that tried to unite the American people and both of them failed, quite frankly. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cole/i-think-we-ve-had-two-presidents-in-a-row-that-tried-to-unite-the/) [Tom Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cole/) > [In theory, at least, all presidents are servants of the people who elected them. In the case of Barack Obama, it has seemed from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/in-theory-at-least-all-presidents-are-servants-of-the-people-who/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [Nobody wants somebody who wants them for what they have or the position their in- you want somebody who wants you for you. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/nobody-wants-somebody-who-wants-them-for-what-they-have-or-the/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [When you're the only pea in the pod, your parents are likely to get you confused with the Hope diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/when-you-re-the-only-pea-in-the-pod-your-parents-are-likely-to-get/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Someone is dead. Even the trees know it, those poor old dancers who come on lewdly, all pea-green scarfs and spine pole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/someone-is-dead-even-the-trees-know-it-those-poor-old-dancers-who/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [One recent menu for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo consisted of orange glazed chicken, fresh fruit crepe, steamed peas and mushrooms, and rice pilaf. Sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/one-recent-menu-for-suspected-terrorists-at-guantanamo-consisted-of/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I like to make Arroz con Gandules, rice with pigeon peas. My husband loves it. It's a Puerto Rican dish my mother taught me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/essence-atkins/i-like-to-make-arroz-con-gandules-rice-with-pigeon-peas-my-husband/) [Essence Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/essence-atkins/) > [The first one who smelt it ain't the one who delt it. Black Eyed Peas keep the scent blind like delta.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am-2/the-first-one-who-smelt-it-ain-t-the-one-who-delt-it-black-eyed-peas/) [Will I Am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am-2/) > [Children pick up words as pigeons peas And utter them again as God shall please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/children-pick-up-words-as-pigeons-peas-and-utter-them-again-as-god/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans and peas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-gray/botanically-speaking-tomatoes-are-the-fruit-of-a-vine-just-as-are/) Horace Gray > [Black Eyed Peas is a chameleon group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/black-eyed-peas-is-a-chameleon-group/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Reader, you may ask this queston. In fact, you must ask this question. Is it ridiculous for a very small, sickly, big-eared mouse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/reader-you-may-ask-this-queston-in-fact-you-must-ask-this-question-is/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) Paul Putner > [It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably more than three parts of the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-booth/it-is-a-great-delusion-to-suppose-that-flesh-meat-of-any-kind-is/) [Catherine Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-booth/) ## More by Charlie Pierce > [There is a barbarism in the American soul, and we must protect some of it by law. To root it out is to endanger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-barbarism-in-the-american-soul-and-we-must-protect-some-of/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [This has been the new normal since September 11. Everyone knows, but nobody says, that if something happens again, the elite consensus in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/this-has-been-the-new-normal-since-september-11-everyone-knows-but/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [For all the huffing and blowing we get about rugged individualism, the American spirit and the American experiment always have had at their heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/for-all-the-huffing-and-blowing-we-get-about-rugged-individualism-the/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [There is a lot in American politics (and in American life) that is angry, greedy, reckless and violent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-lot-in-american-politics-and-in-american-life-that-is/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [The idea that America elected a black man to be its president forty years after it declined to allow Martin Luther King Jr. to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-idea-that-america-elected-a-black-man-to-be-its-president-forty/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [You know, what genuinely makes me uneasy with the way things are going are not - is not really that Trump is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/you-know-what-genuinely-makes-me-uneasy-with-the-way-things-are-going/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [The institutions of college athletics exist primarily as unreality fueled by deceit. The unreality is that universities should be in the business of providing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-institutions-of-college-athletics-exist-primarily-as-unreality/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [There was no way to lock down, or tighten up, or Fail-Safe into Security Theater a race that covers 26.2 miles, a race that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-was-no-way-to-lock-down-or-tighten-up-or-fail-safe-into/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [The man is the Piltdown Man of modern politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-man-is-the-piltdown-man-of-modern-politics/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [To recognize that head injuries were as essential a part of football as they are of boxing would be to erase the fine distinction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/to-recognize-that-head-injuries-were-as-essential-a-part-of-football/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [School districts around the country, and the taxpayers that support them, have a moral right to the information the NFL might have concerning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/school-districts-around-the-country-and-the-taxpayers-that-support/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [There are few colonial nations anymore. Instead, we are colonized by financial institutions beyond our political control. We are colonized with pens and papers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-are-few-colonial-nations-anymore-instead-we-are-colonized-by/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [Obama ran as sane and decent, as though we were electing a mood, and not necessarily a set of policies. Unfortunately, Obama has governed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/obama-ran-as-sane-and-decent-as-though-we-were-electing-a-mood-and/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [One of the great changes wrought by the increased public awareness of Alzheimer's - and thank you, Nancy Reagan, you wonderful tough old dame,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/one-of-the-great-changes-wrought-by-the-increased-public-awareness-of/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [Barack Obama is not a man of The Gut, and it is driving official Washington crazy. This is a good thing, because resisting The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/barack-obama-is-not-a-man-of-the-gut-and-it-is-driving-official/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) [Explore all 49 Charlie Pierce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) ## More Big things quotes > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/little-things-make-the-difference-everyone-is-well-prepared-in-the/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [I would not have lasted a minute, literally a minute, on this Earth without God and angels by my side, because I was born.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mattie-stepanek/i-would-not-have-lasted-a-minute-literally-a-minute-on-this-earth/) [Mattie Stepanek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mattie-stepanek/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It's silly to have as one's sole object in life just making money, accumulating wealth. I work because I enjoy what I'm doing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/it-s-silly-to-have-as-one-s-sole-object-in-life-just-making-money/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-dale-bell/show-me-a-man-who-cannot-bother-to-do-little-things-and-i-ll-show-you/) Lawrence Dale Bell > [ITS FUNNY HOW YOU CAN MAKE SILENT HAPPINESS TO OTHER PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR NONE SENSE ACTIONS. BECAUSE SOMETHINGS IT MAYBE LITTLE AS WE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-voice/its-funny-how-you-can-make-silent-happiness-to-other-people-out-of/) NO VOICE > [The little things, I can obey. But the big things - how we think, what we value - those you must choose yourself. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/the-little-things-i-can-obey-but-the-big-things-how-we-think-what-we/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [The little things are being early to meetings and lifts, stretching and warming up - doing all these things consistently, the walk-throughs that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-herbert/the-little-things-are-being-early-to-meetings-and-lifts-stretching/) [Justin Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-herbert/) > [I promise you this: at the end of your days, you will discover that the things you now perceive to be the big things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/i-promise-you-this-at-the-end-of-your-days-you-will-discover-that-the/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“He wanted me to understand two big things: First, that nobody, no group, is above others. Public servants are obliged to level with everybody,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/he-wanted-me-to-understand-two-big-things-first-that-nobody-no-group/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“When it comes to big things in life, there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-it-comes-to-big-things-in-life-there-are-no-accidents-everything/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [President Barack Obama is a doer. And we in America will do big things with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hunt/president-barack-obama-is-a-doer-and-we-in-america-will-do-big-things/) [Jim Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hunt/) > [There are experts in little things but there are no experts in big things. There are experts in this fact and that fact but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ustinov/there-are-experts-in-little-things-but-there-are-no-experts-in-big/) [Peter Ustinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ustinov/) [Browse all 748 Big things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the shells.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlie Pierce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometimes-presidents-have-to-be-deft/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometimes-presidents-have-to-be-deft/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/charlie-pierce-13624_big-things_in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometime_655602.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the…” — Charlie Pierce", "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": "Charlie Pierce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In order to get big things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometimes-presidents-have-to-be-deft/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometimes-presidents-have-to-be-deft/#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 } } ] } ```