--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On ships they call them barnacles; in…" description: "\"On ships they call them barnacles; in business they attach themselves to desks and are called vice presidents.\" — Fred Allen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png" --- # On ships they call them barnacles; in business they attach… ![“On ships they call them barnacles; in business they attach themselves to desks and are called vice presidents.” quote by Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png) > “On ships they call them barnacles; in business they attach themselves to desks and are called vice presidents.” [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. Business executives can cling to positions like barnacles cling to ships, often without contributing value. **In simple terms:** Some leaders stick around uselessly. Key Takeaway Question the value of attached executives. Themes power corporate culture efficiency Mood satirical critical Type humorous observational When to use this quote - company meetings - performance reviews - leadership restructuring Key Concepts organizational inertia role relevance Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a role is merely decorative? - How can organizations restructure without harming morale? A Different Perspective Not all executives are ineffective; some add strategic insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barnacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barnacles/) [Barnacles Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barnacles-business-5292378/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Desks Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks-called-5292380/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Ships Barnacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships-barnacles-5292379/) [Vice president](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-president/) [Vice Presidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-presidents-1731097/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [The average vice-president is a form of executive fungus that attaches itself to a desk. On a boat this growth would be called a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/the-average-vice-president-is-a-form-of-executive-fungus-that/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [After being sworn in to office, vice presidents have usually been relegated to the sidelines, where they just don't get to do very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cheney/after-being-sworn-in-to-office-vice-presidents-have-usually-been/) [Mary Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cheney/) > [Vice presidents are at times tasked with issuing direct broadsides against enemies while the top guy stays above the fray. But never before has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/vice-presidents-are-at-times-tasked-with-issuing-direct-broadsides/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Will somebody please tell me what they do with all the Vice-Presidents a bank has? Why the United States is the biggest business institution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/will-somebody-please-tell-me-what-they-do-with-all-the-vice/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Middle names are kind of like vice presidents: It's a fine distinction and certainly an honor, but you're never not aware that someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/middle-names-are-kind-of-like-vice-presidents-it-s-a-fine-distinction/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [If the tide of defamation and abuse shall turn, and my administration come to be praised, future Vice-Presidents who may succeed to the Presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tyler/if-the-tide-of-defamation-and-abuse-shall-turn-and-my-administration/) [John Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tyler/) > [Vice presidents are supposed to be eternally loyal, which is why it is so difficult for some to figure out how to succeed their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/vice-presidents-are-supposed-to-be-eternally-loyal-which-is-why-it-is/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [The vice-president of an advertising agency is a bit of executive fungus that forms on a desk that has been exposed to conference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/the-vice-president-of-an-advertising-agency-is-a-bit-of-executive/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [To those who have no personal experience of this revolutionary aspect of Christian truth, but who see only the outer crust of dead, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-those-who-have-no-personal-experience-of-this-revolutionary-aspect/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners, we are freed to hear the unconditional call of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/but-if-we-know-that-the-people-of-god-are-first-a-fellowship-of/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [Long marriages have ended in ruin over tiny and insignificant grievances that were never properly aired and instead grew into a brittle barnacle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/long-marriages-have-ended-in-ruin-over-tiny-and-insignificant/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Barnacles on the container ship of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/barnacles-on-the-container-ship-of-consciousness/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Her fingers moved among barnacles and mussels, blue-black, sharp-edged. Neon red starfish were limp Dalis on the rocks, surrounded by bouquets of stinging anemones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/her-fingers-moved-among-barnacles-and-mussels-blue-black-sharp-edged/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Yet the evil still increased, and, like the parasite of barnacles on a ship, if it did not destroy the structure, it obstructed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-banting/yet-the-evil-still-increased-and-like-the-parasite-of-barnacles-on-a/) [William Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-banting/) > [“I have ceased to think even of barnacles!' -Charles Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-heiligman/i-have-ceased-to-think-even-of-barnacles-charles-darwin/) [Deborah Heiligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-heiligman/) ## 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 Barnacles quotes > [“I have ceased to think even of barnacles!' -Charles Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-heiligman/i-have-ceased-to-think-even-of-barnacles-charles-darwin/) [Deborah Heiligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-heiligman/) > [Yet the evil still increased, and, like the parasite of barnacles on a ship, if it did not destroy the structure, it obstructed its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-banting/yet-the-evil-still-increased-and-like-the-parasite-of-barnacles-on-a/) [William Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-banting/) > [Her fingers moved among barnacles and mussels, blue-black, sharp-edged. Neon red starfish were limp Dalis on the rocks, surrounded by bouquets of stinging anemones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/her-fingers-moved-among-barnacles-and-mussels-blue-black-sharp-edged/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Barnacles on the container ship of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/barnacles-on-the-container-ship-of-consciousness/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The average vice-president is a form of executive fungus that attaches itself to a desk. On a boat this growth would be called a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/the-average-vice-president-is-a-form-of-executive-fungus-that/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Long marriages have ended in ruin over tiny and insignificant grievances that were never properly aired and instead grew into a brittle barnacle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/long-marriages-have-ended-in-ruin-over-tiny-and-insignificant/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners, we are freed to hear the unconditional call of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/but-if-we-know-that-the-people-of-god-are-first-a-fellowship-of/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [To those who have no personal experience of this revolutionary aspect of Christian truth, but who see only the outer crust of dead, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-those-who-have-no-personal-experience-of-this-revolutionary-aspect/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I tell people I'm big in the music business like a barnacle is big in shipping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-gilbert/i-tell-people-i-m-big-in-the-music-business-like-a-barnacle-is-big-in/) [Vance Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-gilbert/) > [Maybe a story will cheer you up... Once there was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died. The End.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-star/maybe-a-story-will-cheer-you-up-once-there-was-an-ugly-barnacle-he/) [Patrick Star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-star/) > [“Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herg/billions-of-bilious-blue-blistering-barnacles/) [Hergé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herg/) > [In my experience, whatever happens clings to us like barnacles on the hull of a ship, slowing us slightly, both uglifying and giving us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/in-my-experience-whatever-happens-clings-to-us-like-barnacles-on-the/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [Professors of literature collect books the way a ship collects barnacles, without seeming effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/professors-of-literature-collect-books-the-way-a-ship-collects/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love." She looked at me with those blue eyes. "Isn't it astonishing how confused and complicated such a small,simple word is? It attracts so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/love-she-looked-at-me-with-those-blue-eyes-isn-t-it-astonishing-how/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [I know not how it is, but during a voyage I collect books as a ship does barnacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/i-know-not-how-it-is-but-during-a-voyage-i-collect-books-as-a-ship/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) [Browse all 29 Barnacles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barnacles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On ships they call them barnacles; in business they attach themselves to desks and are called vice presidents.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Allen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-business-they-attach-themselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barnacles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-business-they-attach-themselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/fred-allen-4199_barnacles_on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-bus_2275822.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On ships they call them barnacles; in business they attach themselves to desks and are called vice presidents.” — 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": "On ships they call them barnacles;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-business-they-attach-themselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/on-ships-they-call-them-barnacles-in-business-they-attach-themselves/#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 } } ] } ```