---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: MSN became a quagmire, partly because of…"
description: "\"MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.\" — Donald Clark"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg"
---

#  MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.

![“MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.” quote by Donald Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg)

> “MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.”

Donald Clark

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

MSN's decline stemmed from overconfidence and poor strategic choices.

**In simple terms:** Hubris led to MSN's failure.

Key Takeaway

Avoid overconfidence in tech projects.

Themes

technology hubris strategy

Mood

critical analytical

Type

business inspirational

When to use this quote

- product launches
- market analysis
- risk assessment
- leadership training

Key Concepts

business failure management

Questions to Reflect On

- What checks prevent hubris in teams?
- How can companies stay adaptable?

A Different Perspective

Market forces also contributed to MSN's challenges.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hubris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hubris/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/)

## Related quotes

> [We are the most powerful nation on earth. No external power, no terrorist organization can defeat us. But we can defeat ourselves by getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-are-the-most-powerful-nation-on-earth-no-external-power-no/)

[George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/)

> [“Under it all was quagmire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/under-it-all-was-quagmire/)

[Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/)

> [Human knowledge is not (or does not follow) a straight line, but a curve, which endlessly approximates a series of circles, a spiral. Any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/human-knowledge-is-not-or-does-not-follow-a-straight-line-but-a-curve/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“This edition of The Making of a Quagmire differs in a number of ways from the original one. Approximately one-third of the text has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/this-edition-of-the-making-of-a-quagmire-differs-in-a-number-of-ways/)

[David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/)

> [The white people's thought is full of ignorance. They constantly devastate the land they live on and transform the waters they drink into quagmires!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davi-kopenawa-yanomami/the-white-people-s-thought-is-full-of-ignorance-they-constantly/)

[Davi Kopenawa Yanomami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davi-kopenawa-yanomami/)

> [Congratulations to Ohio State, your new college football champions. Coach Urban Meyer may be the greatest football coach of all time. Don't confuse him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/congratulations-to-ohio-state-your-new-college-football-champions/)

[David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/)

> [“Most people ended up, after only a couple of months, far, far away from where they'd intended to go, stuck in some barbed underbrush…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/most-people-ended-up-after-only-a-couple-of-months-far-far-away-from/)

[Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/)

> [I was born to fight devils and factions. It is my business to remove obstacles, to cut down thorns, to fill up quagmires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/i-was-born-to-fight-devils-and-factions-it-is-my-business-to-remove/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-least-23-000-civilians-have-also-died-in-the-iraqi-killing-field/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Before and during the first phase of the war his administration repeatedly maligned the UN but now, that Iraq has turned into a quagmire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schuyler/before-and-during-the-first-phase-of-the-war-his-administration/)

[Peter Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schuyler/)

> [“When our mental functioning is whittling away and our mind becomes a lame duck, perception does not form the context anymore and all connections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-our-mental-functioning-is-whittling-away-and-our-mind-becomes-a/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [Afghanistan would have been difficult enough without Iraq. Iraq made it impossible. The argument that had we just focused on Afghanistan we'd now be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/afghanistan-would-have-been-difficult-enough-without-iraq-iraq-made/)

[Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/)

> [The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can't help appreciate the streets of Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/the-brown-toxic-cloud-strangling-los-angeles-never-lifts-and-grows/)

[Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/)

> [No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/no-that-s-someone-else-s-business-quagmire-is-i-don-t-do-quagmires/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [There's so many people telling you what you should look like, what you shouldn't look like, what clothes you should be wearing, whether you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gurinder-chadha/there-s-so-many-people-telling-you-what-you-should-look-like-what-you/)

[Gurinder Chadha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gurinder-chadha/)

## More by Donald Clark

> [Innovation is only innovation when it's sustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/innovation-is-only-innovation-when-it-s-sustainable/)

Donald Clark

> [Show me a Professor of Education, especially a Professor of E-learning, who lectures, and I'll show you a hypocrite who doesn't read the research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/show-me-a-professor-of-education-especially-a-professor-of-e-learning/)

Donald Clark

> [Sometimes you have an idea that is so simple that you can't see how it can fail. But in learning, being right is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/sometimes-you-have-an-idea-that-is-so-simple-that-you-can-t-see-how/)

Donald Clark

Explore all 4 Donald Clark quotes

## More Hubris quotes

> [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [My briefest ever definition of science fiction is 'Hubris clobbered by Nemesis.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/my-briefest-ever-definition-of-science-fiction-is-hubris-clobbered-by/)

[Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/)

> [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/)

[Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/)

> [“Jim Crow repeated the old strategies of the reptilian powers of the air: to convince human beings simultaneously and paradoxically that they are gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-d-moore/jim-crow-repeated-the-old-strategies-of-the-reptilian-powers-of-the/)

[Russell D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-d-moore/)

> [Continue to learn with humility, not hubris. Hubris is boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/continue-to-learn-with-humility-not-hubris-hubris-is-boring/)

[Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/)

> [In a lot of Western science fiction, you need some form of conflict, whether it's aliens or robots. I think in Western culture, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-breazeal/in-a-lot-of-western-science-fiction-you-need-some-form-of-conflict/)

[Cynthia Breazeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-breazeal/)

> [“Nothing is more beautiful than to know all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athanasius-kircher/nothing-is-more-beautiful-than-to-know-all/)

Athanasius Kircher

> [It was the hubris of each generation to think this anew, to think that their time was special, that all things would come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/it-was-the-hubris-of-each-generation-to-think-this-anew-to-think-that/)

[Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/)

> [Empires always have the hubris to think they are indestructible, when in fact they are always unsustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/empires-always-have-the-hubris-to-think-they-are-indestructible-when/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [If one sins against the laws of proportion and gives something too big to something too small to carry it - too big sails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-one-sins-against-the-laws-of-proportion-and-gives-something-too/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [It now appears that the world is filled with people who believe that everyone should be interested in everything they have to say about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/it-now-appears-that-the-world-is-filled-with-people-who-believe-that/)

[Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/)

> [Economists (and others) who are satisfied with nature-free equations develop a dangerous hubris about the potency of our species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/economists-and-others-who-are-satisfied-with-nature-free-equations/)

[Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/)

> [Amassing of wealth is an opportunity for good deeds, not hubris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/amassing-of-wealth-is-an-opportunity-for-good-deeds-not-hubris/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [The three chief virtues of a programmer are: Laziness, Impatience and Hubris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/the-three-chief-virtues-of-a-programmer-are-laziness-impatience-and/)

[Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/)

> [“No experience of the failure of his policy could shake his belief in its essential excellence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babara-tuchman/no-experience-of-the-failure-of-his-policy-could-shake-his-belief-in/)

Babara Tuchman

[Browse all 190 Hubris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hubris/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Donald Clark"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of-microsoft-s-hubris/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hubris"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of-microsoft-s-hubris/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2a/donald-clark-72195_hubris_msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of_859032.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“MSN became a quagmire, partly because of Microsoft's hubris.” — Donald Clark",
                "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": "Donald Clark",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-clark/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "MSN became a quagmire, partly because...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of-microsoft-s-hubris/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-clark/msn-became-a-quagmire-partly-because-of-microsoft-s-hubris/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
