--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A committee is a thing which takes a week…" description: "\"A committee is a thing which takes a week to do what one good man can do in an hour.\" — Elbert Hubbard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/elbert-hubbard-510_business_a-committee-is-a-thing-which-takes-a-wee_1556999.png" --- # A committee is a thing which takes a week to do what one… ![“A committee is a thing which takes a week to do what one good man can do in an hour.” quote by Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/elbert-hubbard-510_business_a-committee-is-a-thing-which-takes-a-wee_1556999.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/elbert-hubbard-510_business_a-committee-is-a-thing-which-takes-a-wee_1556999.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/414/elbert-hubbard-510_business_a-committee-is-a-thing-which-takes-a-wee_1556999.png) > “A committee is a thing which takes a week to do what one good man can do in an hour.” [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collective processes waste time; a single capable person can achieve the same result efficiently. **In simple terms:** Committees are slow; individuals act fast. Key Takeaway Value individual initiative. Themes efficiency individualism bureaucracy productivity Mood critical analytical Type strategic philosophical When to use this quote - project management - decision making - leadership - startup formation Key Concepts Organizational theory human capital Questions to Reflect On - When is collaboration essential? - How can you streamline group work? A Different Perspective Complex tasks may still need diverse input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Committee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committee/) [Committee Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committee-thing-3158801/) [Committees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committees/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Man Hour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-hour-271818/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Permanence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanence/) [Takes Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-week-379432/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Week Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week-good-1761824/) ## Related quotes > [“The Pretty Committee: the only thing harder than getting in, is staying in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisi-harrison/the-pretty-committee-the-only-thing-harder-than-getting-in-is-staying/) [Lisi Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisi-harrison/) > [“So what do you think so far, Tiff?” I asked as I started combing my hair. “I’m thinking next year we need to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/so-what-do-you-think-so-far-tiff-i-asked-as-i-started-combing-my-hair/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) > [“Next year’s fund-raising committee was the last thing I wanted to think about. 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It's good but I know this aint the peak though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/life-change-for-us-every-single-week-so-it-s-good-but-i-know-this/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [You can't ring up another manager and say, 'Who do you think I should pick this week?' But you take the good and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-moyes/you-can-t-ring-up-another-manager-and-say-who-do-you-think-i-should/) [David Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-moyes/) > [I could live a week on one good compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/i-could-live-a-week-on-one-good-compliment/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Life change for us every single week so it's good but I know this ain't the peak yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/life-change-for-us-every-single-week-so-it-s-good-but-i-know-this-ain/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“Jindagi bhar gadhe ki tarah slog marane se aur kuchh din rich Arab Shaikh ki tarah paisa bahane se quality of life change nahi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindra-shukla/jindagi-bhar-gadhe-ki-tarah-slog-marane-se-aur-kuchh-din-rich-arab/) [Ravindra Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindra-shukla/) > [I try to wrestle one time a week with good, solid people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-askren/i-try-to-wrestle-one-time-a-week-with-good-solid-people/) [Ben Askren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-askren/) > [TV's not the same buzz. If someone tells you three million people watched the show last week, that's good but, when you walk out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carr/tv-s-not-the-same-buzz-if-someone-tells-you-three-million-people/) [Jimmy Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carr/) > [“As long as on the earth endures his life To deal with him have full and free permission; Man's hour on earth is weakness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/as-long-as-on-the-earth-endures-his-life-to-deal-with-him-have-full/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I am not eternity, but a man; a part of the whole, as an hour is of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/i-am-not-eternity-but-a-man-a-part-of-the-whole-as-an-hour-is-of-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [I think anyone that grew up in the '70s and '80s grew up with Bob Barker and Wink Martindale and I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/i-think-anyone-that-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-80s-grew-up-with-bob/) [Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/) ## More by Elbert Hubbard > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-highest-reward-that-god-gives-us-for-good-work-is-the-ability-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Art is nothing; it's a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/art-is-nothing-it-s-a-way/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The poor and ignorant will continue to lie and steal as long as the rich and educated show them how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-poor-and-ignorant-will-continue-to-lie-and-steal-as-long-as-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/so-long-as-governments-set-the-example-of-killing-their-enemies/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [If I supply you with a thought, you may remember it and you may not. But if I can make you think a thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-i-supply-you-with-a-thought-you-may-remember-it-and-you-may-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/1-2-3-4-5-a-conservative-is-a-man-who-is-too-cowardly-to-fight-and/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The great man is not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-great-man-is-not-so-great-as-folks-think-and-the-dull-man-is-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Every knock is a boost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/every-knock-is-a-boost/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What boy well raised can compare with your street gamin who has the knowledge and the shrewdness of a grown-up broker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-boy-well-raised-can-compare-with-your-street-gamin-who-has-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Don't make excuses, make good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/don-t-make-excuses-make-good/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [What people need and what they want may be very different… Teachers are those who educate the people to appreciate the things they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/what-people-need-and-what-they-want-may-be-very-different-teachers/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Men who sit back and pride themselves on their culture haven't any to speak of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/men-who-sit-back-and-pride-themselves-on-their-culture-haven-t-any-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) [Explore all 506 Elbert Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. 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