--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the systems most prone to failure are…" description: "\"“the systems most prone to failure are also our most important and are at the epicenter of our most urgent changes. When”\" — Gene Kim" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/gene-kim-2268_failure_the-systems-most-prone-to-failure-are-al_425211.jpg" --- # the systems most prone to failure are also our most… ![“the systems most prone to failure are also our most important and are at the epicenter of our most urgent changes. When” quote by Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/gene-kim-2268_failure_the-systems-most-prone-to-failure-are-al_425211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/gene-kim-2268_failure_the-systems-most-prone-to-failure-are-al_425211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/gene-kim-2268_failure_the-systems-most-prone-to-failure-are-al_425211.jpg) > ““the systems most prone to failure are also our most important and are at the epicenter of our most urgent changes. When”” [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critical systems are both vulnerable and essential, sitting at the heart of urgent transformation. **In simple terms:** Key systems are fragile yet vital. Key Takeaway Prioritize resilience in core processes. Themes risk change systems Mood cautious determined Type advisory strategic When to use this quote - IT operations - business transformation - crisis management Key Concepts systems thinking organizational resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we strengthen core systems without stalling change? - What safeguards are needed for vital processes? A Different Perspective Focusing only on peripheral issues can miss core failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ## Related quotes > [Failure is not important, how you overcome it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/failure-is-not-important-how-you-overcome-it-is/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [“At Times, even he admitted that he'd been more an observer of the world than a participant in it, and in moments of painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/at-times-even-he-admitted-that-he-d-been-more-an-observer-of-the/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I have learned that failure is important. It can't always be smooth sailing, you have to look inward rather than blame others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-russell/i-have-learned-that-failure-is-important-it-can-t-always-be-smooth/) [George Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-russell/) > [Failure is an important ingredient of achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/failure-is-an-important-ingredient-of-achievement/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is the most important part of an artist's training, and one you cannot afford to do without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/failure-is-the-most-important-part-of-an-artist-s-training-and-one/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [Failure, failure is so important, it doesn’t get spoken about enough, we speak about success all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/failure-failure-is-so-important-it-doesn-t-get-spoken-about-enough-we/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/failure-is-so-important-we-speak-about-success-all-the-time-it-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is important because the first time you win (or lose), it could be luck, it could be timing, or it could be talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/failure-is-important-because-the-first-time-you-win-or-lose-it-could/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [Embracing failure is the most important trait I've developed in my career. I have tried to learn from my failures, and I believe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/embracing-failure-is-the-most-important-trait-i-ve-developed-in-my/) [Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/) > [Failure is our most important product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-w-johnson/failure-is-our-most-important-product/) R. W. Johnson > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) ## More by Gene Kim > [“for those organizations that provided a stock ticker symbol, we found that high performers had 50% higher market capitalization growth over three years. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/for-those-organizations-that-provided-a-stock-ticker-symbol-we-found/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“A critical part of the Second Way is making wait times visible, so you know when your work spends days sitting in someone’s queue—or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/a-critical-part-of-the-second-way-is-making-wait-times-visible-so-you/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“when something does go wrong, we conduct blameless post-mortems, not to punish anyone, but to better understand what caused the accident and how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/when-something-does-go-wrong-we-conduct-blameless-post-mortems-not-to/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Bill Baker, a distinguished engineer at Microsoft, quipped that we used to treat servers like pets: “You name them and when they get sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/bill-baker-a-distinguished-engineer-at-microsoft-quipped-that-we-used/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“To even get feedback from our integration process would require twenty-four to thirty-six hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/to-even-get-feedback-from-our-integration-process-would-require/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“work can bounce between teams endlessly due to incomplete information, or work can be passed onto downstream work centers with problems that remain completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/work-can-bounce-between-teams-endlessly-due-to-incomplete-information/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“practicing five minutes daily is better than practicing once a week for three hours. And if you want to create a genuine culture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/practicing-five-minutes-daily-is-better-than-practicing-once-a-week/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“habits are what enable mastery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/habits-are-what-enable-mastery/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“20% on detailed planning (Their poor throughput and high lead times were misattributed to faulty estimation, and so, hoping to get a better answer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/20-on-detailed-planning-their-poor-throughput-and-high-lead-times/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Features are always a gamble. If you’re lucky, ten percent will get the desired benefits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/features-are-always-a-gamble-if-you-re-lucky-ten-percent-will-get-the/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“I listen to Wes and Patty brainstorm ideas to reduce yet another dependency on Brent when something starts to bother me. Erik called WIP,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/i-listen-to-wes-and-patty-brainstorm-ideas-to-reduce-yet-another/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [The status quo (of development) pre-ordains failure from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/the-status-quo-of-development-pre-ordains-failure-from-the-very/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“high performers were twice as likely to exceed profitability, market share, and productivity goals. And,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/high-performers-were-twice-as-likely-to-exceed-profitability-market/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“we value improvement of our daily work more than daily work itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/we-value-improvement-of-our-daily-work-more-than-daily-work-itself/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Alert fatigue is the single biggest problem we have right now…We need to be more intelligent about our alerts or we’ll all go insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/alert-fatigue-is-the-single-biggest-problem-we-have-right-now-we-need/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) [Explore all 175 Gene Kim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the systems most prone to failure are also our most important and are at the epicenter of our most urgent changes. 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