--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He surrounded himself with fools - the…" description: "\"“He surrounded himself with fools - the broken, the failed or failing, the sad and confused - so that he might be their king. Which, obviously made him..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/joanna-rakoff-31943_fools_he-surrounded-himself-with-fools-the-bro_3100634.jpg" --- # He surrounded himself with fools - the broken, the failed… ![“He surrounded himself with fools - the broken, the failed or failing, the sad and confused - so that he might be their king. Which, obviously made him nothing but the king of fools.” quote by Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/joanna-rakoff-31943_fools_he-surrounded-himself-with-fools-the-bro_3100634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/joanna-rakoff-31943_fools_he-surrounded-himself-with-fools-the-bro_3100634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/joanna-rakoff-31943_fools_he-surrounded-himself-with-fools-the-bro_3100634.jpg) > ““He surrounded himself with fools - the broken, the failed or failing, the sad and confused - so that he might be their king. Which, obviously made him nothing but the king of fools.”” [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A leader surrounds himself with weak allies to feel powerful, but this only makes him a ruler of incompetence. **In simple terms:** Choosing foolish followers makes a leader a fool too. Key Takeaway Beware of the company you keep. Themes leadership power relationships Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - corporate teams - political cabinets - social circles - online communities Key Concepts psychology group dynamics authority Questions to Reflect On - What qualities should you seek in allies? - How does surrounding yourself with the wrong people affect decisions? A Different Perspective Relying on weak allies can backfire and erode credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confused King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused-king-5372610/) [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) [Fools Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools-broken-5372612/) [King Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king-fools-518429/) [Surrounded Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrounded-fools-5372611/) ## Related quotes > [Am I surrounded by fools or is common sense not so common?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lewis/am-i-surrounded-by-fools-or-is-common-sense-not-so-common/) [Harry Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lewis/) > [Cell Look around me all I see Thousands of faces wanting me How can I lead? How can I rule? When I'm the king…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cell-look-around-me-all-i-see-thousands-of-faces-wanting-me-how-can-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who believes in the words of a dictator is the king of the fools!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/he-who-believes-in-the-words-of-a-dictator-is-the-king-of-the-fools/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Aye, then.Come and dance with the Ech'lon. You can be me bloody retinue. King o' Fools and 'is merry band o' jesters. If they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bec-mcmaster/aye-then-come-and-dance-with-the-ech-lon-you-can-be-me-bloody-retinue/) [Bec McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bec-mcmaster/) > [Never call yourself the Jack of all Trades, because the Jack of all Trades is really the King of Fools. He can't do just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-champagne/never-call-yourself-the-jack-of-all-trades-because-the-jack-of-all/) [Angie Champagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-champagne/) > [Jerry Lawler walks in here with his crown - DA DA DUM - Imperial Margerine - and talks about what he's going to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-piper/jerry-lawler-walks-in-here-with-his-crown-da-da-dum-imperial/) [Roddy Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-piper/) > [The wise are wise only because they love. The fool are fools only because they think they can understand love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-wise-are-wise-only-because-they-love-the-fool-are-fools-only/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/fools-learn-from-experience-i-prefer-to-learn-from-the-experience-of/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [“stultorum infnitus est numerus (the number of fools is infinite)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ecclesiastes/stultorum-infnitus-est-numerus-the-number-of-fools-is-infinite/) [Ecclesiastes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ecclesiastes/) > [“Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/understanding-is-a-wellspring-of-life-unto-him-that-hath-it-but-the/) [Proverbs 16:22 Bible KJV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) ## More by Joanna Rakoff > [“was so out of place that I disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/was-so-out-of-place-that-i-disappeared/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“She’d never spent entire days lying on her bed reading, entire nights making up complicated stories in her head. She’d not dreamed of willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/she-d-never-spent-entire-days-lying-on-her-bed-reading-entire-nights/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“What terrified her was the set of circumstances that allowed her to eat a full pound of spaghetti, the unmoored, untethered quality of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/what-terrified-her-was-the-set-of-circumstances-that-allowed-her-to/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it-would/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“She needed this wedding—this perfect, minutely orchestrated wedding—to shout, This is who I am. To tell us all that she was not that girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/she-needed-this-wedding-this-perfect-minutely-orchestrated-wedding-to/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Salinger was not cutesy. His work was not nostalgic. These were not fairy tales about child geniuses traipsing the streets of Old New York.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/salinger-was-not-cutesy-his-work-was-not-nostalgic-these-were-not/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Why couldn’t Caitlin confide in Vix? Because she knew Vix would judge her. Because she knew Vix would refuse to understand. Because it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/why-couldn-t-caitlin-confide-in-vix-because-she-knew-vix-would-judge/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Alone in her anxieties and insecurities, alone in the tyranny of her mind, but also simply, literally, physically alone, her only companion an oversized,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/alone-in-her-anxieties-and-insecurities-alone-in-the-tyranny-of-her/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“So we’re all doing a pretty good job not revealing our emotions, right? But if you can’t reveal your emotions, how do you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/so-we-re-all-doing-a-pretty-good-job-not-revealing-our-emotions-right/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“It gets easier once you’re no longer graded, once you have to assess your actions for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/it-gets-easier-once-you-re-no-longer-graded-once-you-have-to-assess/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Writing makes you a writer,” he’d told me. “If you get up every morning and write, then you’re a writer. Publishing doesn’t make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/writing-makes-you-a-writer-he-d-told-me-if-you-get-up-every-morning/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“On Madison, the sun shone in jagged beams and the air held the promise, the hint, of warmth,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/on-madison-the-sun-shone-in-jagged-beams-and-the-air-held-the-promise/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Reading manuscripts was the exact opposite of reading for grad school: it was pure instinct, with some emotion and intelligence thrown in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/reading-manuscripts-was-the-exact-opposite-of-reading-for-grad-school/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“Don’s European friends occasionally came up in conversation, but they’d yet to materialize in real life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/don-s-european-friends-occasionally-came-up-in-conversation-but-they/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“I’d known, of course, that a blizzard was coming, or I suppose I’d known, for I didn’t own a television or a radio, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/i-d-known-of-course-that-a-blizzard-was-coming-or-i-suppose-i-d-known/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) [Explore all 16 Joanna Rakoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) ## More Fools quotes > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [“Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/understanding-is-a-wellspring-of-life-unto-him-that-hath-it-but-the/) [Proverbs 16:22 Bible KJV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverbs-16-22-bible-kjv/) > [“stultorum infnitus est numerus (the number of fools is infinite)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ecclesiastes/stultorum-infnitus-est-numerus-the-number-of-fools-is-infinite/) [Ecclesiastes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ecclesiastes/) > [Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/fools-learn-from-experience-i-prefer-to-learn-from-the-experience-of/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [The wise are wise only because they love. The fool are fools only because they think they can understand love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-wise-are-wise-only-because-they-love-the-fool-are-fools-only/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The magi, as you know, were wise men — wonderfully wise men — who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-magi-as-you-know-were-wise-men-wonderfully-wise-men-who-brought/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“that's what i mean about cats. they're always trying to make fools of us humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-jackson-braun/that-s-what-i-mean-about-cats-they-re-always-trying-to-make-fools-of/) [Lilian Jackson Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-jackson-braun/) > [“I wish one half the world were not fools, and the other half idiots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-fern/i-wish-one-half-the-world-were-not-fools-and-the-other-half-idiots/) [Fanny Fern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-fern/) > [“What name do you use then, for two people who help each other?” “Why are they helping each other?” “Simply to be kind, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-manning/what-name-do-you-use-then-for-two-people-who-help-each-other-why-are/) [Michael G. Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-manning/) > [“The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places. (p 57)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-world-is-not-fair-and-often-fools-cowards-liars-and-the-selfish/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Today is April Fools Day. Believe nothing, and trust no one...So it's like any other day. Right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-is-april-fools-day-believe-nothing-and-trust-no-one-so-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,204 Fools quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He surrounded himself with fools - the broken, the failed or failing, the sad and confused - so that he might be their king. 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