--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ultimately, when you come up with a…" description: "\"Ultimately, when you come up with a classification scheme that is collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive, then the theory can become what Kuhn ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png" --- # Ultimately, when you come up with a classification scheme… ![“Ultimately, when you come up with a classification scheme that is collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive, then the theory can become what Kuhn called a paradigm.” quote by Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png) > “Ultimately, when you come up with a classification scheme that is collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive, then the theory can become what Kuhn called a paradigm.” [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A comprehensive classification that is exhaustive and exclusive forms a paradigm, shaping theory and practice. **In simple terms:** Clear categories create powerful frameworks. Key Takeaway Build thorough classification systems. Themes theory paradigm classification Mood analytical critical Type academic inspirational When to use this quote - research design - policy making - product development Key Concepts exhaustiveness mutual exclusivity frameworks Questions to Reflect On - What classifications limit thinking? - How to balance breadth and depth? A Different Perspective Creating such schemes can be complex and limiting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Paradigm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-paradigm-1537737/) [Classification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classification/) [Collectively Exhaustive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectively-exhaustive-1537739/) [Come up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-up/) [Exclusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusive/) [Exhaustive Mutually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustive-mutually-1537740/) [Paradigm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigm/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Theory Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-kuhn-1537738/) ## Related quotes > [I was lucky enough to build on the work of a number of people who had already run laps around this theory-building track. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/i-was-lucky-enough-to-build-on-the-work-of-a-number-of-people-who-had/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [In the first stage of insight-building, all that researchers can do is observe phenomena. Second, they classify the phenomena in a way that helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/in-the-first-stage-of-insight-building-all-that-researchers-can-do-is/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [In general, the questions that are on our mind are the same questions that have been driving our work over the past decade. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/in-general-the-questions-that-are-on-our-mind-are-the-same-questions/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Western science is a product of the Apollonian mind: its hope is that by naming and classification, by the cold light of intellect, archaic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/western-science-is-a-product-of-the-apollonian-mind-its-hope-is-that/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/classifications-and-distinctions-based-on-race-or-color-have-no-moral/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Every attempt, by whatever authority, to fix a maximum of productive labor by a given worker in a given time is an unjust restriction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-murray-butler/every-attempt-by-whatever-authority-to-fix-a-maximum-of-productive/) [Nicholas Murray Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-murray-butler/) > [I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material. I’m certainly well aware of the classification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-did-not-email-any-classified-material-to-anyone-on-my-email-there/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Unless one is a religious fundamentalist and believes that man was created in the image and likeness of God, it is foolish to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-philippe-rushton/unless-one-is-a-religious-fundamentalist-and-believes-that-man-was/) [J. Philippe Rushton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-philippe-rushton/) > [Highly creative people have a gift for connecting supposedly unrelated elements and ideas. They cross borders without regard for customs posts or No Trespassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/highly-creative-people-have-a-gift-for-connecting-supposedly/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Nomenclature, the other foundation of botany, should provide the names as soon as the classification is made... If the names are unknown knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-linnaeus/nomenclature-the-other-foundation-of-botany-should-provide-the-names/) [Carl Linnaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-linnaeus/) > [The kitchen clock is more convenient than sidereal time. We must use the popular category, as we do by the Linnæan classification, for convenience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-kitchen-clock-is-more-convenient-than-sidereal-time-we-must-use/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The morning stars sang together. And a person of delicate ear and nice judgment discussed the singing at length, and showed how and wherein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-william-hodgson-crosland/the-morning-stars-sang-together-and-a-person-of-delicate-ear-and-nice/) [Thomas William Hodgson Crosland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-william-hodgson-crosland/) > [“Write in hashtags!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/write-in-hashtags/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Science is the systematic classification of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/science-is-the-systematic-classification-of-experience/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) ## More by Clayton Christensen > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [In our lives and in our careers, whether we are aware of it or not, we are constantly navigating a path by deciding between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/in-our-lives-and-in-our-careers-whether-we-are-aware-of-it-or-not-we/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Many of the factors that we think will cause motivation, such as fair pay and a good manager, won't make you love your job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/many-of-the-factors-that-we-think-will-cause-motivation-such-as-fair/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [People in private equity complain that they have so much capital and so few places to invest. But you have lots of entrepreneurs trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/people-in-private-equity-complain-that-they-have-so-much-capital-and/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [If you're successful and growing, you can manage any way you want to. Growth makes so many dimensions of management easier. It's when growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/if-you-re-successful-and-growing-you-can-manage-any-way-you-want-to/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [A sustaining innovation makes better products that you can sell for better profits to your best customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/a-sustaining-innovation-makes-better-products-that-you-can-sell-for/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Purpose must be deliberately conceived and chosen, and then pursued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/purpose-must-be-deliberately-conceived-and-chosen-and-then-pursued/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [The mistake that makes launching a venture expensive is when you try to make a disruptive technology so good that it can compete on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/the-mistake-that-makes-launching-a-venture-expensive-is-when-you-try/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [What you need is a fundamental humility - the belief that you can learn from anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/what-you-need-is-a-fundamental-humility-the-belief-that-you-can-learn/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [This is why I belong, and why I believe. I commend to all this same search for happiness and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/this-is-why-i-belong-and-why-i-believe-i-commend-to-all-this-same/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [I think this is one reason why the Lord invented the Internet - so members can teach one another how to succeed in assignments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/i-think-this-is-one-reason-why-the-lord-invented-the-internet-so/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Because these firms listened to their customers, invested aggressively in new technologies that would provide their customers more and better products of the sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/because-these-firms-listened-to-their-customers-invested-aggressively/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [At the beginning of almost every industry, the available products and services are so expensive to own and complicated to use that only people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/at-the-beginning-of-almost-every-industry-the-available-products-and/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Management has to provide the coordinating mechanism between what the supplier provides and what the user needs in not-good-enough situations where product architecture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/management-has-to-provide-the-coordinating-mechanism-between-what-the/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [When you're thinking about your next product or current product and wondering how to make it different so you don't have competition, understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/when-you-re-thinking-about-your-next-product-or-current-product-and/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) [Explore all 166 Clayton Christensen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) ## More Classification quotes > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Science is the systematic classification of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/science-is-the-systematic-classification-of-experience/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [“Write in hashtags!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/write-in-hashtags/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The morning stars sang together. And a person of delicate ear and nice judgment discussed the singing at length, and showed how and wherein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-william-hodgson-crosland/the-morning-stars-sang-together-and-a-person-of-delicate-ear-and-nice/) [Thomas William Hodgson Crosland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-william-hodgson-crosland/) > [The kitchen clock is more convenient than sidereal time. We must use the popular category, as we do by the Linnæan classification, for convenience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-kitchen-clock-is-more-convenient-than-sidereal-time-we-must-use/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nomenclature, the other foundation of botany, should provide the names as soon as the classification is made... If the names are unknown knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-linnaeus/nomenclature-the-other-foundation-of-botany-should-provide-the-names/) [Carl Linnaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-linnaeus/) > [Highly creative people have a gift for connecting supposedly unrelated elements and ideas. They cross borders without regard for customs posts or No Trespassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/highly-creative-people-have-a-gift-for-connecting-supposedly/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Unless one is a religious fundamentalist and believes that man was created in the image and likeness of God, it is foolish to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-philippe-rushton/unless-one-is-a-religious-fundamentalist-and-believes-that-man-was/) [J. Philippe Rushton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-philippe-rushton/) > [I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material. I’m certainly well aware of the classification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-did-not-email-any-classified-material-to-anyone-on-my-email-there/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Every attempt, by whatever authority, to fix a maximum of productive labor by a given worker in a given time is an unjust restriction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-murray-butler/every-attempt-by-whatever-authority-to-fix-a-maximum-of-productive/) [Nicholas Murray Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-murray-butler/) > [Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/classifications-and-distinctions-based-on-race-or-color-have-no-moral/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Western science is a product of the Apollonian mind: its hope is that by naming and classification, by the cold light of intellect, archaic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/western-science-is-a-product-of-the-apollonian-mind-its-hope-is-that/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I thought my chances to make the Braves were better and that they were being fairer to me, paying me more money to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-aaron/i-thought-my-chances-to-make-the-braves-were-better-and-that-they/) [Hank Aaron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-aaron/) > [Ministry of Magic (M.O.M) Classification. xxxxx Known wizard killer / impossible to train or domesticate / or anything Hagrid likes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ministry-of-magic-m-o-m-classification-xxxxx-known-wizard-killer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is once again the vexing problem of identity within variety; without a solution to this disturbing problem there can be no system, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/it-is-once-again-the-vexing-problem-of-identity-within-variety/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) [Browse all 152 Classification quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classification/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ultimately, when you come up with a classification scheme that is collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive, then the theory can become what Kuhn called a paradigm.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clayton Christensen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-classification-scheme-that-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Classification" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-classification-scheme-that-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ce/clayton-christensen-2433_classification_ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-class_2552959.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ultimately, when you come up with a classification scheme that is collectively exhaustive and mutually…” — Clayton Christensen", "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": "Clayton Christensen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ultimately, when you come up with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-classification-scheme-that-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/ultimately-when-you-come-up-with-a-classification-scheme-that-is/#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 } } ] } ```