---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Strive to make proposed solutions as…"
description: "\"Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense.\" —..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg"
---

#  Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as…

![“Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense.” quote by Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg)

> “Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense.”

[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.

Complex solutions that require many decisions become slower and costlier; aim for designs that run themselves.

**In simple terms:** Self‑executing solutions reduce bureaucracy.

Key Takeaway

Design for autonomy.

Themes

efficiency bureaucracy design

Mood

pragmatic analytical

Type

advisory strategic

When to use this quote

- project planning
- software development
- policy implementation
- organizational restructuring

Key Concepts

systems thinking automation process optimization

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance autonomy with necessary control?
- When does automation become a new bottleneck?

A Different Perspective

Self‑executing systems still need oversight and may lack flexibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bureaucracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Delay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delay/) [Discretion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion/) [Discretion Increases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discretion-increases-4489322/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Executing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/executing/) [Expenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenses/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Make Proposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-proposed-5361056/) [Proposed Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proposed-solutions-5361057/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Solutions Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions-self-5361058/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/)

## Related quotes

> [The importance of discretion increases with closeness to the top of a hierarchical organization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/the-importance-of-discretion-increases-with-closeness-to-the-top-of-a/)

[Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/)

> [Formula creation is magnitudes harder for computer algorithms than actually executing within a formula. But once the genre is created and the formula is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-m-parker/formula-creation-is-magnitudes-harder-for-computer-algorithms-than/)

[Philip M. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-m-parker/)

> [These commercials, I directed them all from inside the tracking vehicle, so I was traveling about 85mph most of the time, so there wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-w-s-anderson/these-commercials-i-directed-them-all-from-inside-the-tracking/)

[Paul W. S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/)

> [“Leadership is the art of following, listening and executing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/leadership-is-the-art-of-following-listening-and-executing/)

[Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/)

> [I think, with any new product that's difficult to understand, there are always lots of questions and criticism. I think we have all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-spiegel/i-think-with-any-new-product-that-s-difficult-to-understand-there-are/)

[Evan Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-spiegel/)

> [Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/putting-first-things-first-means-organizing-and-executing-around-your/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [I've had moments where I didn't hit the ball very good coming in, and you've got to turn it around. That's the whole idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-ve-had-moments-where-i-didn-t-hit-the-ball-very-good-coming-in-and/)

[Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/)

> [The practice of executing such offenders is a relic of the past and is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency in a civilized society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-stevens/the-practice-of-executing-such-offenders-is-a-relic-of-the-past-and/)

[John Paul Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-stevens/)

> [In setting goals and executing a strategy, Wanda is sophisticated. We have good systems and departments. If targets are not reached, a yellow light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-jianlin/in-setting-goals-and-executing-a-strategy-wanda-is-sophisticated-we/)

[Wang Jianlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-jianlin/)

> [There's a lot of power in executing data - generating data and executing data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-power-in-executing-data-generating-data-and/)

[Ken Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-thompson/)

> [When you actually sit down to write some code, you learn things that you didn't get from thinking about them in modeling terms...there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-fowler/when-you-actually-sit-down-to-write-some-code-you-learn-things-that/)

[Martin Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-fowler/)

> [I'm proposing a change: love thy worker-bee. Celebrate the ones who toil without complaint, play on a team, construct the hive, produce the honey...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-lublin/i-m-proposing-a-change-love-thy-worker-bee-celebrate-the-ones-who/)

[Nancy Lublin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-lublin/)

> [It is the body, subject to the harmony of the steps it is executing, which speaks. And it speaks to the heart in as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/it-is-the-body-subject-to-the-harmony-of-the-steps-it-is-executing/)

[Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/)

> [Learning to play the guitar is a combination of mental and motor skill acquisition. And to develop motor skill, repetition is essential... Whenever musicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/learning-to-play-the-guitar-is-a-combination-of-mental-and-motor/)

[Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/)

> [Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks! You sulphurour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/blow-winds-and-crack-your-cheeks-rage-blow-you-cataracts-and/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## 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 Bureaucracy quotes

> [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/)

[John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/)

> [There's nothing wrong with the Democratic Party that talks more about - and more loudly about - jobs, and cutting red tape, and bureaucracy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-the-democratic-party-that-talks-more-about/)

[John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/)

> [Socialism would gather all power to the supreme party and party leaders, rising like stately pinnacles above their vast bureaucracies of civil servants no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/socialism-would-gather-all-power-to-the-supreme-party-and-party/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [I believe that government should confine itself to the public realm and that it should be as stripped down as possible, within reason. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-government-should-confine-itself-to-the-public-realm/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm utterly unsuited for bureaucracy. I don't know my passwords to anything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/if-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-about-me-it-s-that-i-m-utterly/)

[Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/)

> [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/)

[Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/)

> [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/)

[Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/)

> [Trump conducts meetings and actually tries to get something done rather than just have the meeting and rather than just announce a framework and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-conducts-meetings-and-actually-tries-to-get-something-done/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [So many signatures for such a small heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/so-many-signatures-for-such-a-small-heart/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [“Uniformity in the common law, consisting of broad principles like the "reasonable person" standard, generally permits adjustment for the circumstances. This type of uniform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/uniformity-in-the-common-law-consisting-of-broad-principles-like-the/)

[Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/)

> [“It is horrible to think that the world could one day be filled with nothing but those little cogs, little men clinging to little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/it-is-horrible-to-think-that-the-world-could-one-day-be-filled-with/)

[Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/)

> [“Bureaucracy will be the deity of the twentieth century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-ter-esterh-zy/bureaucracy-will-be-the-deity-of-the-twentieth-century/)

[Péter Esterházy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-ter-esterh-zy/)

> [the greater the bureaucratization of public life, the greater will be the attraction of violence. In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-greater-the-bureaucratization-of-public-life-the-greater-will-be/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

[Browse all 636 Bureaucracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Donald Rumsfeld"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-self-executing-as-possible-as/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bureaucracy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-self-executing-as-possible-as/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/donald-rumsfeld-1507_bureaucracy_strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-sel_676518.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so…” — 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": "Strive to make proposed solutions as...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-self-executing-as-possible-as/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/strive-to-make-proposed-solutions-as-self-executing-as-possible-as/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```