--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a mistake to expect good work from…" description: "\"It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for it is not what they do that matters but what they are not doing.\" — Cyril Connolly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png" --- # It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for… ![“It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for it is not what they do that matters but what they are not doing.” quote by Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png) > “It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for it is not what they do that matters but what they are not doing.” [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expatriates are judged not by their work but by what they neglect, highlighting expectations versus reality. **In simple terms:** People focus on what expatriates fail to do, not what they achieve. Key Takeaway Value actions over assumptions. Themes expectations exile performance Mood critical reflective Type analytical observational When to use this quote - work evaluation - cross‑cultural integration - team management Key Concepts cultural bias misjudgment identity Questions to Reflect On - What expectations are unfair? - How can we assess true impact? A Different Perspective It may ignore positive contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expatriates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expatriates/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) ## Related quotes > [We didn't think the library was funny looking in it's faux- Greek splendor, nor did we find the cuisine limited or bland, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/we-didn-t-think-the-library-was-funny-looking-in-it-s-faux-greek/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [The west has decided to channel money and effort into studying other customs and practices, but no one has really given other people the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-west-has-decided-to-channel-money-and-effort-into-studying-other/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“I understand the, um, difficulty the French expatriates might have, especially after projects in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. My heart goes out to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-cile-rischmann/i-understand-the-um-difficulty-the-french-expatriates-might-have/) Cécile Rischmann > [ \[The director's idea for the film was:\] A young American or English girl goes to Tuscany to visit English expatriates. She is on a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/the-director-s-idea-for-the-film-was-a-young-american-or-english-girl/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-re-an-expatriate-you-ve-lost-touch-with-the-soil-you-get-precious/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [To read 'Happy Talk' is to crash a party as vivid and surreal as Felini's 8. It's the business of show business, the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-drake/to-read-happy-talk-is-to-crash-a-party-as-vivid-and-surreal-as-felini/) [Monica Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-drake/) > [I know my own deficiencies, one of which is that I had lived away from America for such a long time. It's called expatriate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/i-know-my-own-deficiencies-one-of-which-is-that-i-had-lived-away-from/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [World Christians are heaven's expatriates, camping where the Kingdom is best served.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bryant/world-christians-are-heaven-s-expatriates-camping-where-the-kingdom/) [David Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bryant/) > [I am all for cultural diversity and would be willing to see each recognizable group value its cultural heritage. I am a New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-am-all-for-cultural-diversity-and-would-be-willing-to-see-each/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I travel backwards and forwards quite a lot. I live very near to the train station. I'm kind of playing at being an expatriate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-travel-backwards-and-forwards-quite-a-lot-i-live-very-near-to-the/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [Haitians do not need development programs imposed on them by expatriates. Instead, they need help in developing as self-assured persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/haitians-do-not-need-development-programs-imposed-on-them-by/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [“If Indian weddings for Indian people are the furthest from “fun,” trips to India for Indian people are the furthest from “vacation.” When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scaachi-koul/if-indian-weddings-for-indian-people-are-the-furthest-from-fun-trips/) [Scaachi Koul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scaachi-koul/) > [Pound was silly, bumptious, extravagantly generous, annoying, exhibitionistic; Eliot was sensible, cautious, retiring, soothing, shy. Though Pound wrote some brilliant passages, on the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-mathews/pound-was-silly-bumptious-extravagantly-generous-annoying/) T.S. Mathews > [My internship with Oberoi hotels and later working with the ITC group in Jaipur helped me get a better exposure; I got to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaani-kapoor/my-internship-with-oberoi-hotels-and-later-working-with-the-itc-group/) [Vaani Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaani-kapoor/) > [“The sad engineer would never go back to England; he would become one of these elderly expatriates who hide out in remote countries, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-sad-engineer-would-never-go-back-to-england-he-would-become-one/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## More by Cyril Connolly > [Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [There is no fury like a woman searching for a new lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/there-is-no-fury-like-a-woman-searching-for-a-new-lover/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Beautiful women must think about their beauty as capitalists think about their investments or politicians about their majorities; it is all they have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/beautiful-women-must-think-about-their-beauty-as-capitalists-think/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [We cannot be happy until we can love ourselves without egotism and our friends without tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/we-cannot-be-happy-until-we-can-love-ourselves-without-egotism-and/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [What grape to keep its place in the sun, taught our ancestors to make wine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/what-grape-to-keep-its-place-in-the-sun-taught-our-ancestors-to-make/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/literature-is-the-art-of-writing-something-that-will-be-read-twice-2/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“Our memories are card-indexes consulted and then put back in disorder by authorities whom we do not control.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/our-memories-are-card-indexes-consulted-and-then-put-back-in-disorder/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Were I to deduce any system from my feelings on leaving Eton, it might be called The Theory of Permanent Adolescence. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/were-i-to-deduce-any-system-from-my-feelings-on-leaving-eton-it-might/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Failure on the other hand is infectious. The world is full of charming failures (for all charming people have something to conceal, usually their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/failure-on-the-other-hand-is-infectious-the-world-is-full-of-charming/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [The civilization of one epoch becomes the manure of the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/the-civilization-of-one-epoch-becomes-the-manure-of-the-next/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [There is no more somber enemy of good art than the pram in the hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/there-is-no-more-somber-enemy-of-good-art-than-the-pram-in-the-hall/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [The true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and no other task is of any consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/the-true-function-of-a-writer-is-to-produce-a-masterpiece-and-no/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“We pay for vice by the knowledge that we are wicked; we pay for pleasure when we find out too late that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/we-pay-for-vice-by-the-knowledge-that-we-are-wicked-we-pay-for/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [The books I haven't written are better than the books other people have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/the-books-i-haven-t-written-are-better-than-the-books-other-people/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [If Montaigne is a man in the prime of life sitting in his study on a warm morning and putting down the sum of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/if-montaigne-is-a-man-in-the-prime-of-life-sitting-in-his-study-on-a/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) [Explore all 204 Cyril Connolly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) ## More Expatriates quotes > [We didn't think the library was funny looking in it's faux- Greek splendor, nor did we find the cuisine limited or bland, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/we-didn-t-think-the-library-was-funny-looking-in-it-s-faux-greek/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [My internship with Oberoi hotels and later working with the ITC group in Jaipur helped me get a better exposure; I got to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaani-kapoor/my-internship-with-oberoi-hotels-and-later-working-with-the-itc-group/) [Vaani Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaani-kapoor/) > [Pound was silly, bumptious, extravagantly generous, annoying, exhibitionistic; Eliot was sensible, cautious, retiring, soothing, shy. Though Pound wrote some brilliant passages, on the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-mathews/pound-was-silly-bumptious-extravagantly-generous-annoying/) T.S. Mathews > [“If Indian weddings for Indian people are the furthest from “fun,” trips to India for Indian people are the furthest from “vacation.” When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scaachi-koul/if-indian-weddings-for-indian-people-are-the-furthest-from-fun-trips/) [Scaachi Koul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scaachi-koul/) > [Haitians do not need development programs imposed on them by expatriates. Instead, they need help in developing as self-assured persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/haitians-do-not-need-development-programs-imposed-on-them-by/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [I travel backwards and forwards quite a lot. I live very near to the train station. I'm kind of playing at being an expatriate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-travel-backwards-and-forwards-quite-a-lot-i-live-very-near-to-the/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [I am all for cultural diversity and would be willing to see each recognizable group value its cultural heritage. I am a New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-am-all-for-cultural-diversity-and-would-be-willing-to-see-each/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [World Christians are heaven's expatriates, camping where the Kingdom is best served.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bryant/world-christians-are-heaven-s-expatriates-camping-where-the-kingdom/) [David Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bryant/) > [I know my own deficiencies, one of which is that I had lived away from America for such a long time. It's called expatriate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/i-know-my-own-deficiencies-one-of-which-is-that-i-had-lived-away-from/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [To read 'Happy Talk' is to crash a party as vivid and surreal as Felini's 8. It's the business of show business, the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-drake/to-read-happy-talk-is-to-crash-a-party-as-vivid-and-surreal-as-felini/) [Monica Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-drake/) > [You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil. You get precious. Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-re-an-expatriate-you-ve-lost-touch-with-the-soil-you-get-precious/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [ \[The director's idea for the film was:\] A young American or English girl goes to Tuscany to visit English expatriates. She is on a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/the-director-s-idea-for-the-film-was-a-young-american-or-english-girl/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“I understand the, um, difficulty the French expatriates might have, especially after projects in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. My heart goes out to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-cile-rischmann/i-understand-the-um-difficulty-the-french-expatriates-might-have/) Cécile Rischmann > [The west has decided to channel money and effort into studying other customs and practices, but no one has really given other people the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-west-has-decided-to-channel-money-and-effort-into-studying-other/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“The sad engineer would never go back to England; he would become one of these elderly expatriates who hide out in remote countries, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-sad-engineer-would-never-go-back-to-england-he-would-become-one/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) [Browse all 25 Expatriates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expatriates/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for it is not what they do that matters but what they are not doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cyril Connolly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from-expatriates-for-it-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expatriates" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from-expatriates-for-it-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/cyril-connolly-1829_expatriates_it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from_2462300.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for it is not what they do that matters but what they…” — Cyril Connolly", "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": "Cyril Connolly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a mistake to expect...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from-expatriates-for-it-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/it-is-a-mistake-to-expect-good-work-from-expatriates-for-it-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```