--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Committee - a group of men who…" description: "\"Committee - a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.\" — Fred Allen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png" --- # Committee - a group of men who individually can do nothing… ![“Committee - a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.” quote by Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png) > “Committee - a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.” [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A committee is a group that can achieve nothing individually but claims collective power to do nothing. **In simple terms:** Committees often achieve nothing despite many members. Key Takeaway Question the effectiveness of group decisions. Themes bureaucracy group dynamics inefficiency Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - board meetings - project teams - community groups Key Concepts collective action decision paralysis Questions to Reflect On - When does a group become more than its parts? - How can you ensure collective productivity? A Different Perspective May underestimate individual contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) ## Related quotes > [A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing, but who, as a group, can meet and decide that nothing can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/a-committee-is-a-group-of-people-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but-2/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [“a group of people who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/a-group-of-people-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but-as-a-group/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [A committee is a group of the unprepared, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/a-committee-is-a-group-of-the-unprepared-appointed-by-the-unwilling/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing but together can decide that nothing can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/a-committee-is-a-group-of-people-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [Committee, n.: A group of people that, when given the task of deciding whether to start array indices from either 0 or 1, compromises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-kelly-bootle/committee-n-a-group-of-people-that-when-given-the-task-of-deciding/) [Stan Kelly-Bootle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-kelly-bootle/) > [A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-berle/a-committee-is-a-group-that-keeps-minutes-and-loses-hours/) [Milton Berle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-berle/) > [Committee: A group which succeeds in getting something done only when it consists of three members, one of whom happens to be sick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/committee-a-group-which-succeeds-in-getting-something-done-only-when/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Committee - a group of men who keep minutes and waste hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-berle/committee-a-group-of-men-who-keep-minutes-and-waste-hours/) [Milton Berle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-berle/) > [A committee is a group of individuals who all put in a perfectly good color, and it comes out gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sherman/a-committee-is-a-group-of-individuals-who-all-put-in-a-perfectly-good/) [Allan Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sherman/) > [What is a committee? A group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harkness/what-is-a-committee-a-group-of-the-unwilling-picked-from-the-unfit-to/) Richard Harkness > [Men have never been individually self-sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/men-have-never-been-individually-self-sufficient/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group theyre rather stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glynis-johns/though-we-adore-men-individually-we-agree-that-as-a-group-theyre/) [Glynis Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glynis-johns/) > [Though we adore men individually, we agree as a group they're rather stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/though-we-adore-men-individually-we-agree-as-a-group-they-re-rather/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And although we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-sherman/and-although-we-adore-men-individually-we-agree-that-as-a-group-they/) [Richard M. Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-sherman/) > [“Each land in the world produces its own men individually bad - and, in time, other bad men who kill them for the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emerson-hough/each-land-in-the-world-produces-its-own-men-individually-bad-and-in/) Emerson Hough ## More by Fred Allen > [“I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/i-can-t-understand-why-a-person-will-take-a-year-or-two-to-write-a/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [“(Faces are all important. Without faces it would be impossible to identify our friends. If we had to recognize people by their bodies, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/faces-are-all-important-without-faces-it-would-be-impossible-to/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [If I could get my membership fee back, I'd resign from the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/if-i-could-get-my-membership-fee-back-i-d-resign-from-the-human-race/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/ed-sullivan-will-be-around-as-long-as-someone-else-has-talent/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/i-like-long-walks-especially-when-they-are-taken-by-people-who-annoy/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [My uncle is a Southern planter. He's an undertaker in Alabama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/my-uncle-is-a-southern-planter-he-s-an-undertaker-in-alabama/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Hollywood is a great place if you're an orange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/hollywood-is-a-great-place-if-you-re-an-orange/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Everywhere outside New York City is Bridgeport, Connecticut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/everywhere-outside-new-york-city-is-bridgeport-connecticut/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [I'm a little hoarse tonight. I've been living in Chicago for the past two months, and you know how it is, yelling for help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/i-m-a-little-hoarse-tonight-i-ve-been-living-in-chicago-for-the-past/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [He writes so well he makes me feel like putting my quill back in my goose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/he-writes-so-well-he-makes-me-feel-like-putting-my-quill-back-in-my/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/her-hat-is-a-creation-that-will-never-go-out-of-style-it-will-just/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [When a radio comedian's program is finally finished it slinks down Memory Lane into the limbo of yesteryear's happy hours. All that the comedian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/when-a-radio-comedian-s-program-is-finally-finished-it-slinks-down/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [He's so small, he's a waste of skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/he-s-so-small-he-s-a-waste-of-skin/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Life, in my estimation, is a biological misadventure that we terminate on the shoulders of six strange men whose only objective is to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/life-in-my-estimation-is-a-biological-misadventure-that-we-terminate/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [My agent gets 10 percent of everything I get, except the blinding headaches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/my-agent-gets-10-percent-of-everything-i-get-except-the-blinding/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) [Explore all 114 Fred Allen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) ## More Committee quotes > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [What is interesting in Washington, D.C., is I've never missed a vote. The veterans' committee keeps track of hearings, and I've never missed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/what-is-interesting-in-washington-d-c-is-i-ve-never-missed-a-vote-the/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [It is necessary to get a lot of men together, for the show of the thing, otherwise the world will not believe. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/it-is-necessary-to-get-a-lot-of-men-together-for-the-show-of-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/) [Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/) > [If the many allegations made to this date are true, then the burglars who broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ervin/if-the-many-allegations-made-to-this-date-are-true-then-the-burglars/) [Sam Ervin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ervin/) > [One of the great joys this year and the year before has been how all of the people in this body, men and women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hayes/one-of-the-great-joys-this-year-and-the-year-before-has-been-how-all/) [Robin Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hayes/) > [I was sent there by the Free Congress Committee, headed by Paul Weyrich. Fred Smith and I were sent down as observers, with reporters'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dixie-lee-ray/i-was-sent-there-by-the-free-congress-committee-headed-by-paul/) [Dixie Lee Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dixie-lee-ray/) > [Some people advocate public nomination and a three-track system - allowing voters and political parties to make nominations along with the committee. These people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lam/some-people-advocate-public-nomination-and-a-three-track-system/) [Carrie Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lam/) > [As you know in this committee, we have all of HUD, and HUD is responsible for so many programs that determine the quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/as-you-know-in-this-committee-we-have-all-of-hud-and-hud-is/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [I believe in a running back by committee. Always have. Always been taught that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dorsey/i-believe-in-a-running-back-by-committee-always-have-always-been/) [John Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dorsey/) > [As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee - the chief tax-writing body in Congress - I understand that true comprehensive tax reform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brady/as-chairman-of-the-house-ways-and-means-committee-the-chief-tax/) [Kevin Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brady/) > [Committees are to get everybody together and homogenize their thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/committees-are-to-get-everybody-together-and-homogenize-their-thinking/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [I'm chairing a UNESCO committee on how to improve global Internet communications for science; help third-world people get onto the Net so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-m-chairing-a-unesco-committee-on-how-to-improve-global-internet/) [Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/) > [Committees are consumers and sometimes sterilizers of ideas, rarely creators of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/committees-are-consumers-and-sometimes-sterilizers-of-ideas-rarely/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) Browse all 337 Committee quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Committee - a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Allen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/committee-a-group-of-men-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Committee" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/committee-a-group-of-men-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/fred-allen-4199_committee_committee-a-group-of-men-who-individuall_2594516.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Committee - a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.” — Fred Allen", "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": "Fred Allen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Committee - a group of men...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/committee-a-group-of-men-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/committee-a-group-of-men-who-individually-can-do-nothing-but-as-a/#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 } } ] } ```