--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you have unskilled people who work…" description: "\"If you have unskilled people who work poorly together, no amount of process will save your projects.\" — Jim Highsmith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/jim-highsmith-41645_amount_if-you-have-unskilled-people-who-work-po_1468882.png" --- # If you have unskilled people who work poorly together, no… ![“If you have unskilled people who work poorly together, no amount of process will save your projects.” quote by Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/jim-highsmith-41645_amount_if-you-have-unskilled-people-who-work-po_1468882.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/jim-highsmith-41645_amount_if-you-have-unskilled-people-who-work-po_1468882.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/jim-highsmith-41645_amount_if-you-have-unskilled-people-who-work-po_1468882.png) > “If you have unskilled people who work poorly together, no amount of process will save your projects.” [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technical skill gaps cannot be fixed by process alone; team competence is essential. **In simple terms:** People, not process, determine success. Key Takeaway Invest in skill development. Themes teamwork process skill gaps Mood pragmatic urgent Type practical motivational When to use this quote - software development - cross‑functional teams - project planning Key Concepts agile methodology human factors Questions to Reflect On - What training can raise team competence? - How can you identify skill gaps early? A Different Perspective Process improvements may be wasted without capable people. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Unskilled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unskilled/) ## Related quotes > [I never had a role that I set out for. I always wanted to have a body of work that I'm proud of. 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Part of me thinks: 'Why do I think I can pull this off?' but the part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-maguire/i-m-wildly-unskilled-at-what-i-do-part-of-me-thinks-why-do-i-think-i/) [Sean Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-maguire/) > [“He was a regulator first-class, which was another term for metalworker unskilled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/he-was-a-regulator-first-class-which-was-another-term-for-metalworker/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [These people are very unskilled in arms... with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/these-people-are-very-unskilled-in-arms-with-50-men-they-could-all-be/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [“Some friends are like sunny days, with false flames, oozing from afar, coming near without a dime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-friends-are-like-sunny-days-with-false-flames-oozing-from-afar/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [A lot of young people just starting out unskilled, as all Americans do when they're born here, come to this country, and so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-norquist/a-lot-of-young-people-just-starting-out-unskilled-as-all-americans-do/) [Grover Norquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-norquist/) > [An unskilled middle-aged man can work in the mines, and it pays well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/an-unskilled-middle-aged-man-can-work-in-the-mines-and-it-pays-well/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Alan Greenspan is unskilled; you don't take the unskilled seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/alan-greenspan-is-unskilled-you-don-t-take-the-unskilled-seriously/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Let the unskilled jobs that take absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to do — let stupid and unskilled Mexicans do that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/let-the-unskilled-jobs-that-take-absolutely-no-knowledge-whatsoever/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [It's estimated that by 2030 there will be virtually no unskilled jobs in the British economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-powell/it-s-estimated-that-by-2030-there-will-be-virtually-no-unskilled-jobs/) [Lucy Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-powell/) > [You can be very successful but still struggling financially, and it looked like I'd have to take a year or two off and find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-can-be-very-successful-but-still-struggling-financially-and-it/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/no-job-no-matter-how-lowly-is-truly-unskilled/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [I decided to set out to prove that you could make a reasonable living building for the poor using recycled materials and only hiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-phillips/i-decided-to-set-out-to-prove-that-you-could-make-a-reasonable-living/) [Dan Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-phillips/) > [Private-sector firms are increasingly active in the prison industry and they and the militantly unionized correctional officers, almost all unskilled labor, constantly lead public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/private-sector-firms-are-increasingly-active-in-the-prison-industry/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) ## More by Jim Highsmith > [Documentation is not understanding, process is not discipline, formality is not skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/documentation-is-not-understanding-process-is-not-discipline/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [Process is not a substitute for skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/process-is-not-a-substitute-for-skill/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [The best way to get a project done faster is to start sooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/the-best-way-to-get-a-project-done-faster-is-to-start-sooner/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [A methodology's weight is a product of its size and ceremony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/a-methodology-s-weight-is-a-product-of-its-size-and-ceremony/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [Agility is the ability to adapt and respond to change … agile organizations view change as an opportunity, not a threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/agility-is-the-ability-to-adapt-and-respond-to-change-agile/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [If you find that your organization can't make the hard decisions that Scrum demands, then high-risk, uncertain projects have very little probability of success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-highsmith/if-you-find-that-your-organization-can-t-make-the-hard-decisions-that/) [Jim Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-highsmith/) > [Simple rules guide innovative, intelligent responses. 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Harper > [You have a little bit of talent, a certain amount of good fortune and a lot of hard work in pursuit of whatever truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/you-have-a-little-bit-of-talent-a-certain-amount-of-good-fortune-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have a tremendous amount of respect for military families. 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