--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel…" description: "\"“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.”\" — Chip Heath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png" --- # Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made… ![“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.” quote by Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png) > ““Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.”” [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compromise often yields a diluted outcome, resembling a hybrid that satisfies no one fully. **In simple terms:** Compromise can produce a weak middle ground. Key Takeaway Compromise may dilute quality. Themes decision making teamwork compromise design Mood cautious analytical Type wisdom When to use this quote - product development - policy negotiations - creative collaborations Key Concepts trade‑off analysis Practical Applications - clarify core objectives before compromising - use structured decision frameworks Questions to Reflect On - When is compromise a strategic advantage? - How can teams preserve core values while compromising? A Different Perspective In some contexts, compromise is essential to achieve consensus and avoid stalemate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) ## Related quotes > [They sit there in committees day after day, And they each put in a color and it comes out gray. And we all have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sherman/they-sit-there-in-committees-day-after-day-and-they-each-put-in-a/) [Allan Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sherman/) > [A camel is a horse designed by a committee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-issigonis/a-camel-is-a-horse-designed-by-a-committee/) [Alec Issigonis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-issigonis/) > [There used to be one writer rather than a team of writers. It's the old line about a camel being a horse designed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/there-used-to-be-one-writer-rather-than-a-team-of-writers-it-s-the/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [A camel is a horse designed by a committee and a committee's a sweet running piece of machinery compared to any government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-r-dickson/a-camel-is-a-horse-designed-by-a-committee-and-a-committee-s-a-sweet/) [Gordon R. Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-r-dickson/) > [“Everyone should at least try to do the thing he wants to do. Later in life situations and responsibilities force people to compromise. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-susann/everyone-should-at-least-try-to-do-the-thing-he-wants-to-do-later-in/) [Jacqueline Susann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-susann/) > [Love is not a compromise. It's something like the rising of the sun,although you've seen it a thousand times, you can't explain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-day/love-is-not-a-compromise-it-s-something-like-the-rising-of-the-sun/) Ronnie Day > [I think it's okay to have high standards but its important to be able to compromise rather than like ditching someone completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-s-okay-to-have-high-standards-but-its-important-to-be-able/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They say it is better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable, but how about a compromise like moderately rich and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/they-say-it-is-better-to-be-poor-and-happy-than-rich-and-miserable/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [Compromise is like the middle of the road; always safer to walk on than the edges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/compromise-is-like-the-middle-of-the-road-always-safer-to-walk-on/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [As a politician - particularly as a politician in a coalition - you quickly realise that compromise is a part of the game. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-davey/as-a-politician-particularly-as-a-politician-in-a-coalition-you/) [Edward Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-davey/) > [“Simple answers, reductionist politics, are the most prone to compromise, to saying we’re addressing the essential issue and all that other stuff can slide.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/simple-answers-reductionist-politics-are-the-most-prone-to-compromise/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [The human spirit will not invest itself in a compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/the-human-spirit-will-not-invest-itself-in-a-compromise/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [A lasting relationship consists of the 3 C's: Commitment. Communication. Compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/a-lasting-relationship-consists-of-the-3-c-s-commitment-communication/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [As a matter of fact, compromise is what oppression feeds on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/as-a-matter-of-fact-compromise-is-what-oppression-feeds-on/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/a-compromise-is-the-art-of-dividing-a-cake-in-such-a-way-that/) Ludwig Erhard ## More by Chip Heath > [“It seems some CEOs who pay extremely large acquisition premiums … come to believe their own press.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/it-seems-some-ceos-who-pay-extremely-large-acquisition-premiums-come/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Regrets of the Dying.” She shared the five most common regrets of the people she had come to know: 1. I wish I’d had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/regrets-of-the-dying-she-shared-the-five-most-common-regrets-of-the/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“We are fighting a war on load times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/we-are-fighting-a-war-on-load-times/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Peter Bregman, a productivity guru and blogger for the Harvard Business Review, recommends a simple trick for dodging this fate. He advises us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/peter-bregman-a-productivity-guru-and-blogger-for-the-harvard/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [When people know the desired destination, they’re free to improvise, as needed, in arriving there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/when-people-know-the-desired-destination-they-re-free-to-improvise-as/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Research tells us that brainstorming becomes more productive when it’s focused. As jazz great Charles Mingus famously said, “You can’t improvise on nothing, man;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/research-tells-us-that-brainstorming-becomes-more-productive-when-it/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [What’s working, and how can we do more of it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/what-s-working-and-how-can-we-do-more-of-it/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out disagreement. Alfred Sloan, the longtime CEO and chairman of General Motors, once interrupted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-courage-to-seek-out-disagreement/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“One rule of thumb is to keep searching for options until you fall in love at least twice. If you’ve only identified one good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/one-rule-of-thumb-is-to-keep-searching-for-options-until-you-fall-in/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Seeking a compelling example of the company’s poor purchasing habits, Stegner assigned a summer student intern to investigate a single item—work gloves, which workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/seeking-a-compelling-example-of-the-company-s-poor-purchasing-habits/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Unexpected ideas are more likely to stick because surprise makes us pay attention and think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/unexpected-ideas-are-more-likely-to-stick-because-surprise-makes-us/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“As recounted in his book It’s Your Ship, one of Captain Abrashoff’s first moves was to interview every one of the 310 crew members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/as-recounted-in-his-book-it-s-your-ship-one-of-captain-abrashoff-s/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Journalists obsess about their leads. Don Wycliff, a winner of prizes for editorial writing, says, “I’ve always been a believer that if I’ve got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/journalists-obsess-about-their-leads-don-wycliff-a-winner-of-prizes/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“What you don’t need to do is anticipate every turn in the road between today and the destination. It’s not that plotting the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/what-you-don-t-need-to-do-is-anticipate-every-turn-in-the-road/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Transitions should be marked, milestones commemorated, and pits filled. That’s the essence of thinking in moments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/transitions-should-be-marked-milestones-commemorated-and-pits-filled/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) [Explore all 114 Chip Heath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) ## More Camel quotes > [Expediency is a law of nature. The camel is a wonderful animal, but the desert made the camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/expediency-is-a-law-of-nature-the-camel-is-a-wonderful-animal-but-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdelkader-el-djezairi/death-is-a-black-camel-which-kneels-at-the-gates-of-all/) [Abdelkader El Djezairi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdelkader-el-djezairi/) > [You'd think that would have been forgotten long ago. But no, no sooner has a little grass grown over it than some clumsy camel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerstin-gier/you-d-think-that-would-have-been-forgotten-long-ago-but-no-no-sooner/) [Kerstin Gier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerstin-gier/) > [“the senile, lecherous expression of a camel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-senile-lecherous-expression-of-a-camel/) [yann martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“All things (e.g. a camel's journey through A needle's eye) are possible, it's true. But picture how the camel feels, squeezed out In one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-things-e-g-a-camel-s-journey-through-a-needle-s-eye-are-possible/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“I want to know about the future because I’m a man,” the camel driver had said to the seer. “And men always live their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-want-to-know-about-the-future-because-i-m-a-man-the-camel-driver/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [He runs like a camel. A really pissed off camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-donovan/he-runs-like-a-camel-a-really-pissed-off-camel/) [Art Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-donovan/) > [“Many people still believe that “tough guy” means having a camel type muscles rather than a lion heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/many-people-still-believe-that-tough-guy-means-having-a-camel-type/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Ah, the camel of Cairo! ... He went quietly and comfortably through the narrowest lanes and the densest crowds by the mere force of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-jeannette-duncan/ah-the-camel-of-cairo-he-went-quietly-and-comfortably-through-the/) [Sara Jeannette Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-jeannette-duncan/) > [“I saw the camel put on its shirt An leave without tears for Mecca With a thousand and one Sand sellers and Dark crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-mansour/i-saw-the-camel-put-on-its-shirt-an-leave-without-tears-for-mecca/) Joyce Mansour > [“A blanket could be used to wrap up all the love I have to offer you, so it’ll be easier for you to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-wrap-up-all-the-love-i-have-to-offer-you/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Is there a right end of a camel for your head to be in?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-j-caile/is-there-a-right-end-of-a-camel-for-your-head-to-be-in/) Dani J Caile > [A single camel can carry around 300 kilograms. Using camels for hauling during migration is becoming a rarity in Mongolia, where mechanized transport is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cope/a-single-camel-can-carry-around-300-kilograms-using-camels-for/) [Tim Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cope/) > [The difference between camels and men; a camel can work a week and not drink; a man can drink a week and not work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-tuwim/the-difference-between-camels-and-men-a-camel-can-work-a-week-and-not/) [Julian Tuwim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-tuwim/) > [A camel is a horse designed by a committee and a committee's a sweet running piece of machinery compared to any government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-r-dickson/a-camel-is-a-horse-designed-by-a-committee-and-a-committee-s-a-sweet/) [Gordon R. Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-r-dickson/) [Browse all 103 Camel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chip Heath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Camel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bf/chip-heath-4065_camel_compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel_117813.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.” — Chip Heath", "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": "Chip Heath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Compromise is like the old joke,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/#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 } } ] } ```