--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never assume the other fellow will not do…" description: "\"Never assume the other fellow will not do something you wouldn't do.\" — Donald Rumsfeld" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png" --- # Never assume the other fellow will not do something you… ![“Never assume the other fellow will not do something you wouldn't do.” quote by Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png) > “Never assume the other fellow will not do something you wouldn't do.” [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often expect others to act differently than they would themselves, leading to misjudgment. **In simple terms:** Don’t assume others will act contrary to yourself. Key Takeaway Check expectations before judging. Themes trust expectation misjudgment Mood cautious reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - teamwork - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts social psychology projection Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify others’ intentions? - What biases affect your expectations? A Different Perspective People may act similarly when faced with same incentives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Never assume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-assume/) ## Related quotes > [Do not always assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-thomas/do-not-always-assume-the-other-fellow-has-intelligence-equal-to-yours/) Terry-Thomas > [If you never assume importance, you never lose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/if-you-never-assume-importance-you-never-lose-it/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Never assume, unless it stated. just relate it to LOVE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mine/never-assume-unless-it-stated-just-relate-it-to-love/) Mine > [Never ASSUME, because when you ASSUME, you make an ASS of U and ME.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-unger/never-assume-because-when-you-assume-you-make-an-ass-of-u-and-me/) Felix Unger > [Never assume you know where someone else is coming from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-crouch/never-assume-you-know-where-someone-else-is-coming-from/) [Blake Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-crouch/) > [We must never assume that which is incapable of proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/we-must-never-assume-that-which-is-incapable-of-proof/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Never assume someone is smarter than you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethenny-frankel/never-assume-someone-is-smarter-than-you/) [Bethenny Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethenny-frankel/) > [Never assume you understand. Ask the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/never-assume-you-understand-ask-the-questions/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Being an actor is often very tedious, which is why it helps hugely if your fellow cast members are also good friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strickson/being-an-actor-is-often-very-tedious-which-is-why-it-helps-hugely-if/) [Mark Strickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strickson/) > [Have I done aught of value to my fellow-men? Then have I done much for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/have-i-done-aught-of-value-to-my-fellow-men-then-have-i-done-much-for/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [Hail fellow, well met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/hail-fellow-well-met/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The truth is, I just love to work. I love being on set. I love being around crews. I love being around my fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-ray-newman/the-truth-is-i-just-love-to-work-i-love-being-on-set-i-love-being/) [Jaime Ray Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-ray-newman/) > [The Babe is one fellow, and I'm another and I could never be exactly like him. I don't try, I just go on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gehrig/the-babe-is-one-fellow-and-i-m-another-and-i-could-never-be-exactly/) [Lou Gehrig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gehrig/) > [The fellow is either a madman or a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-fellow-is-either-a-madman-or-a-poet/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) ## More by Donald Rumsfeld > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [I don't think we'll discover anything, myself. I think what will happen is we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-think-we-ll-discover-anything-myself-i-think-what-will-happen/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/members-of-the-u-s-house-and-the-u-s-senate-are-not-there-by-accident/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-federal-government-should-be-the-last-resort-not-the-first-ask-if/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/the-price-of-being-close-to-the-president-is-delivering-bad-news-you/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-speak-ill-of-your-predecessors-or-successors-you-didn-t-walk-in/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/if-you-can-t-solve-a-problem-make-it-bigger/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/enjoy-your-time-in-public-service-it-may-well-be-one-of-the-most/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [There will be good moments, and there will be less good moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/there-will-be-good-moments-and-there-will-be-less-good-moments/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/from-where-you-sit-the-white-house-may-look-as-untidy-as-the-inside/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/you-will-launch-many-projects-but-have-time-to-finish-only-a-few-so/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [What is the value of having millions of people in Iraq not having a repressive regime? What is the value of having the Iraqi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/what-is-the-value-of-having-millions-of-people-in-iraq-not-having-a/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/don-t-be-a-bottleneck-if-a-matter-is-not-a-decision-for-the-president/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [When you're skiing, if you're not falling you're not trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/when-you-re-skiing-if-you-re-not-falling-you-re-not-trying/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) [Explore all 234 Donald Rumsfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) ## More Assume quotes > [We only call at ducks when their rear ends are towards us. If I'm looking at you and you call my name, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jase-robertson/we-only-call-at-ducks-when-their-rear-ends-are-towards-us-if-i-m/) [Jase Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jase-robertson/) > [Nobody really knows everything, and they can only assume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/nobody-really-knows-everything-and-they-can-only-assume/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) > [Partisanship is our great curse. We too readily assume that everything has two sides and that it is our duty to be on one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-harvey-robinson/partisanship-is-our-great-curse-we-too-readily-assume-that-everything/) [James Harvey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-harvey-robinson/) > [“I just mean, sometimes two people do something unexpected and then by that simple act alone, it just seems they automatically assume it's now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-amo/i-just-mean-sometimes-two-people-do-something-unexpected-and-then-by/) [Thomas Amo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-amo/) > [I think that we have a number of different health care challenges in our country, and certainly addressing the uninsured is one, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/i-think-that-we-have-a-number-of-different-health-care-challenges-in/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [Is it philosophical, is it quite allowable, to assume without evidence from fossil plants that the family or any of the genera was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-gray/is-it-philosophical-is-it-quite-allowable-to-assume-without-evidence/) [Asa Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-gray/) > [Let's assume for the moment that the logic behind Presidents Day is actually sound for certain presidents. Why not have a separate holiday for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/let-s-assume-for-the-moment-that-the-logic-behind-presidents-day-is/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [We should not assume; however, that just because something is unexplainable by us, it is unexplainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/we-should-not-assume-however-that-just-because-something-is/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [I think a lot of fans immediately go, 'ugggh' when they hear that someone is doing a prequel or a remake, they sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-winstead/i-think-a-lot-of-fans-immediately-go-ugggh-when-they-hear-that/) [Mary Elizabeth Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-winstead/) > [You can never assume that something is going to do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lopez/you-can-never-assume-that-something-is-going-to-do-well/) [Robert Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lopez/) > [What we assume, what we have never clearly thought out, controls us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-t-kelsey/what-we-assume-what-we-have-never-clearly-thought-out-controls-us/) [Morton T. Kelsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-t-kelsey/) > [Do not always assume the other fellow has intelligence equal to yours. He may have more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-thomas/do-not-always-assume-the-other-fellow-has-intelligence-equal-to-yours/) Terry-Thomas > [Americans assume all British people have at least one servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/americans-assume-all-british-people-have-at-least-one-servant/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [It is a mistake to assume that if everybody does his job, it will be all right. The whole system may be in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/it-is-a-mistake-to-assume-that-if-everybody-does-his-job-it-will-be/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [ If \[Barack\] Obama or the boss or the newspapers or anyone else tells you they're doing this, that, or the other thing, dismiss it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-barack-obama-or-the-boss-or-the-newspapers-or-anyone-else-tells/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) Browse all 542 Assume quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never assume the other fellow will not do something you wouldn't do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Rumsfeld" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-do-something-you-wouldn-t-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assume" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-do-something-you-wouldn-t-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad8/donald-rumsfeld-1507_assume_never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-d_276382.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never assume the other fellow will not do something you wouldn't do.” — Donald Rumsfeld", "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 Rumsfeld", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never assume the other fellow will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-do-something-you-wouldn-t-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/never-assume-the-other-fellow-will-not-do-something-you-wouldn-t-do/#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 } } ] } ```