--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not limit your planning horizon to…" description: "\"“Do not limit your planning horizon to what can be accomplished with existing tools. If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything will look like a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/gerald-a-michaelson-96033_hammer_do-not-limit-your-planning-horizon-to-wh_2885383.jpg" --- # Do not limit your planning horizon to what can be… ![“Do not limit your planning horizon to what can be accomplished with existing tools. If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything will look like a nail.” quote by Gerald A. Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/gerald-a-michaelson-96033_hammer_do-not-limit-your-planning-horizon-to-wh_2885383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/gerald-a-michaelson-96033_hammer_do-not-limit-your-planning-horizon-to-wh_2885383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/gerald-a-michaelson-96033_hammer_do-not-limit-your-planning-horizon-to-wh_2885383.jpg) > ““Do not limit your planning horizon to what can be accomplished with existing tools. If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything will look like a nail.”” [Gerald A. Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-a-michaelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Limiting planning to existing tools restricts perspective; using only a hammer makes everything look like a nail. **In simple terms:** Tool limitations narrow vision. Key Takeaway Expand tools to broaden planning. Themes planning tools creativity innovation perspective problem solving Mood pragmatic inspirational Type hammer:1 planning:1 like nail:0 planning horizon:1 existing tools:1 limit planning:0 When to use this quote - business strategy - project planning - personal goal setting - education - research Key Concepts systems thinking design thinking management Questions to Reflect On - What tools could you add? - How does tool choice affect outcomes? A Different Perspective New tools may be costly or unavailable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existing Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existing-tools-4022081/) [Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hammer/) [Like Nail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-nail-385098/) [Limit Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limit-planning-4022082/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) [Planning Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning-horizon-4022080/) ## Related quotes > [As the saying goes, when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/as-the-saying-goes-when-you-re-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [“To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-a-man-with-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/to-the-man-who-only-has-a-hammer-everything-he-encounters-begins-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail; when you're a skilled intelligence professional, everything looks like a vital source for collection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/when-you-re-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail-when-you-re-a/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/if-all-you-have-is-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [“As the saying goes, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/as-the-saying-goes-when-you-have-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-you-only-have-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/when-the-only-tool-you-own-is-a-hammer-every-problem-begins-to-look/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Anytime I have a hammer in hand,things all around me start to look like nail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/anytime-i-have-a-hammer-in-hand-things-all-around-me-start-to-look/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [To the man with only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/to-the-man-with-only-a-hammer-every-problem-looks-like-a-nail/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [To someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-someone-with-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If your only tool is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-your-only-tool-is-a-hammer-everything-starts-to-look-like-a-nail/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“When you buy a gun, every problem starts to look like a nail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/when-you-buy-a-gun-every-problem-starts-to-look-like-a-nail/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“As the saying goes, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Reader,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/as-the-saying-goes-when-you-have-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail; and when you're a left-wing sorehead, everything is an occasion to damn the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-scialabba/when-you-re-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail-and-when-you-re-a/) [George Scialabba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-scialabba/) ## More by Gerald A. Michaelson > [“The idea of using extraordinary force does not mean more of the same effort. Extraordinary action results from out-of-the-box thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-a-michaelson/the-idea-of-using-extraordinary-force-does-not-mean-more-of-the-same/) [Gerald A. Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-a-michaelson/) [Explore all 2 Gerald A. Michaelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-a-michaelson/) ## More Hammer quotes > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [My first bit of gear was a Roland JV-1010 sound module. I used to hammer the hell out of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-blue/my-first-bit-of-gear-was-a-roland-jv-1010-sound-module-i-used-to/) [Jonas Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-blue/) > [Fighting fire with fire is like trying to knock down a building with a hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-hayward/fighting-fire-with-fire-is-like-trying-to-knock-down-a-building-with/) [Courtney Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-hayward/) > [I believe that inside every tool is a hammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-believe-that-inside-every-tool-is-a-hammer/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [“When the Deliverator puts the hammer down, shit happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/when-the-deliverator-puts-the-hammer-down-shit-happens/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/art-is-not-a-mirror-held-up-to-reality-but-a-hammer-with-which-to/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“There are some who say that Time is itself a hammer; that each slow second marks another tap that makes big rocks into little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-stover/there-are-some-who-say-that-time-is-itself-a-hammer-that-each-slow/) [Matthew Stover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-stover/) > [Give a small boy a hammer and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kaplan/give-a-small-boy-a-hammer-and-he-will-find-that-everything-he/) [Abraham Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kaplan/) > [As a technology, the book is like a hammer. That is to say, it is perfect: a tool ideally suited to its task. Hammers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/as-a-technology-the-book-is-like-a-hammer-that-is-to-say-it-is/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [And you will believe in love And all that it's supposed to be But just until the fish start to smell And you're struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/and-you-will-believe-in-love-and-all-that-it-s-supposed-to-be-but/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [There ought to be a man with a hammer behind the door of every happy man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-ought-to-be-a-man-with-a-hammer-behind-the-door-of-every-happy/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [You cannot dream yourself into a character, you must hammer and forge yourself once...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja/you-cannot-dream-yourself-into-a-character-you-must-hammer-and-forge/) [Pooja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja/) > [Art is not a mirror but a hammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grierson/art-is-not-a-mirror-but-a-hammer/) [John Grierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grierson/) > [If my only tool is a hammer, then every problem is a nail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholem-asch/if-my-only-tool-is-a-hammer-then-every-problem-is-a-nail/) [Sholem Asch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholem-asch/) > [I work very hard to line up stereotypes and then smash them with a hammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-sheridan/i-work-very-hard-to-line-up-stereotypes-and-then-smash-them-with-a/) [Taylor Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-sheridan/) [Browse all 281 Hammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hammer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Do not limit your planning horizon to what can be accomplished with existing tools. 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