--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never let the guy with the broom decide…" description: "\"Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade.\" — Merlin Mann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg" --- # Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants… ![“Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade.” quote by Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg) > “Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade.” [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authority should not dictate arbitrary limits; creativity thrives beyond imposed constraints. **In simple terms:** Don’t let one person set all the rules. Key Takeaway Question and expand limits. Themes authority creativity parade elephants broom Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - event planning - team projects - creative brainstorming - policy making Key Concepts critical thinking leadership freedom Questions to Reflect On - Who decides what is reasonable? - How do we balance order and imagination? A Different Perspective One voice may lack perspective; consensus can be slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broom Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broom-decide-3927132/) [Brooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooms/) [Decide Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-elephants-3927131/) [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) [Elephants Parade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants-parade-848720/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Guy Broom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy-broom-3927133/) [Parades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parades/) ## Related quotes > [“If you don't know the kind of person I am and I don't know the kind of person you are a pattern that others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stafford/if-you-don-t-know-the-kind-of-person-i-am-and-i-don-t-know-the-kind/) [William Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stafford/) > [There should be less talk. . . . What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-should-be-less-talk-what-do-you-do-then-take-a-broom-and-clean/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands,' said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/draco-malfoy/my-father-s-next-door-buying-my-books-and-mother-s-up-the-street/) [Draco Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/draco-malfoy/) > [Photographers who come up with power never get accused of imitating anyone else even though they photograph the same broom, same street, same portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/photographers-who-come-up-with-power-never-get-accused-of-imitating/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries in China, it is up to us to organize the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-up-to-us-to-organize-the-people-as-for-the-reactionaries-in/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [I use all sorts of things to work with: old brooms, old sweaters, and all kinds of peculiar tools and materials... I paint to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-use-all-sorts-of-things-to-work-with-old-brooms-old-sweaters-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn't get bored anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-mean-give-me-a-guitar-give-me-a-piano-give-me-a-broom-and-string-i/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [She comes by night, in fearsome flight, in garments black as pitch, the queen of doom upon her broom, the wild and wicked witch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-prelutsky/she-comes-by-night-in-fearsome-flight-in-garments-black-as-pitch-the/) [Jack Prelutsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-prelutsky/) > [There was this big skiffle craze happening for a while in England… Everybody was in a skiffle group..All you needed was an acoustic Guitar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/there-was-this-big-skiffle-craze-happening-for-a-while-in-england/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Honoured sir, poverty is not a vice, that's a true saying. Yet I know too that drunkeness is not a virtue, and that's even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/honoured-sir-poverty-is-not-a-vice-that-s-a-true-saying-yet-i-know/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [The person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-behar/the-person-who-sweeps-the-floor-should-choose-the-broom/) [Howard Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-behar/) > [Let’s see . . . ah, yes, this is nice and cozy.” It was a broom cupboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-s-see-ah-yes-this-is-nice-and-cozy-it-was-a-broom-cupboard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After that, he tried to go upstairs through the broom cupboard, and then the yard. This seemed to puzzle him a little. But finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/after-that-he-tried-to-go-upstairs-through-the-broom-cupboard-and/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [“Street sweepers were pulling their wide brooms down the road and the swish of their brooms filtered through the tail-end of her dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-mootoo/street-sweepers-were-pulling-their-wide-brooms-down-the-road-and-the/) [Shani Mootoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-mootoo/) > [There's times when I'm cleaning the kitchen, and while I'm doing that, I'm singing and air guitaring with a broom to 'You Should Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/there-s-times-when-i-m-cleaning-the-kitchen-and-while-i-m-doing-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) ## More by Merlin Mann > [“Getting organized just means you’ve glued handles onto the various stuff in your life — you’ll still need to pick it up and carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/getting-organized-just-means-you-ve-glued-handles-onto-the-various/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Make the time to be scared of more interesting things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/make-the-time-to-be-scared-of-more-interesting-things/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Personally, it's changed my game - it's how I think now. Can't imagine writing more than a paragraph in anything that doesn't do MMD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/personally-it-s-changed-my-game-it-s-how-i-think-now-can-t-imagine/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Where you allow your attention to go ultimately says more about you as a human being than anything that you put in your mission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/where-you-allow-your-attention-to-go-ultimately-says-more-about-you/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Everything takes more time than you thought, everything costs more money than you thought, and almost everything turns out not quite as cool as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/everything-takes-more-time-than-you-thought-everything-costs-more/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [People with tiny glasses and costly shoes can always find a couple of hours to explain how you did it all wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/people-with-tiny-glasses-and-costly-shoes-can-always-find-a-couple-of/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Feeling creative produces great work in approximately the same way that "feeling like a doctor" makes you a gifted thoracic surgeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/feeling-creative-produces-great-work-in-approximately-the-same-way/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Creative work only seems like a magic trick to people who don't understand that it's ultimately still work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/creative-work-only-seems-like-a-magic-trick-to-people-who-don-t/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Creative work, summarized: In the time you set aside each day to work your ass off, ignore anything that makes you consider stopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/creative-work-summarized-in-the-time-you-set-aside-each-day-to-work/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [If you need to appear on an internet list to know whether you're someone's friend, you may have problems a computer can't solve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/if-you-need-to-appear-on-an-internet-list-to-know-whether-you-re/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [You're gonna die. You're gonna die. And nobody's gonna care which version of the iPhone you used to make something on Twitter, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/you-re-gonna-die-you-re-gonna-die-and-nobody-s-gonna-care-which/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [“Put plainer, my sense is that western culture would be a damn sight poorer today if John Lennon had been forced to carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/put-plainer-my-sense-is-that-western-culture-would-be-a-damn-sight/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [I think all of the best nonfiction that has ever been made comes from the result of someone who can't stop thinking about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/i-think-all-of-the-best-nonfiction-that-has-ever-been-made-comes-from/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Email is such a funny thing. People hand you these single little messages that are no heavier than a river pebble. But it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/email-is-such-a-funny-thing-people-hand-you-these-single-little/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [A priority is observed, not manufactured or assigned. Otherwise, it's necessarily not a priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/a-priority-is-observed-not-manufactured-or-assigned-otherwise-it-s/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) [Explore all 49 Merlin Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) ## More Brooms quotes > [There's times when I'm cleaning the kitchen, and while I'm doing that, I'm singing and air guitaring with a broom to 'You Should Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/there-s-times-when-i-m-cleaning-the-kitchen-and-while-i-m-doing-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [“Street sweepers were pulling their wide brooms down the road and the swish of their brooms filtered through the tail-end of her dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-mootoo/street-sweepers-were-pulling-their-wide-brooms-down-the-road-and-the/) [Shani Mootoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-mootoo/) > [After that, he tried to go upstairs through the broom cupboard, and then the yard. This seemed to puzzle him a little. But finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/after-that-he-tried-to-go-upstairs-through-the-broom-cupboard-and/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [Let’s see . . . ah, yes, this is nice and cozy.” It was a broom cupboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-s-see-ah-yes-this-is-nice-and-cozy-it-was-a-broom-cupboard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-behar/the-person-who-sweeps-the-floor-should-choose-the-broom/) [Howard Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-behar/) > [Honoured sir, poverty is not a vice, that's a true saying. Yet I know too that drunkeness is not a virtue, and that's even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/honoured-sir-poverty-is-not-a-vice-that-s-a-true-saying-yet-i-know/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [There was this big skiffle craze happening for a while in England… Everybody was in a skiffle group..All you needed was an acoustic Guitar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/there-was-this-big-skiffle-craze-happening-for-a-while-in-england/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [She comes by night, in fearsome flight, in garments black as pitch, the queen of doom upon her broom, the wild and wicked witch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-prelutsky/she-comes-by-night-in-fearsome-flight-in-garments-black-as-pitch-the/) [Jack Prelutsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-prelutsky/) > [I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn't get bored anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/i-mean-give-me-a-guitar-give-me-a-piano-give-me-a-broom-and-string-i/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I use all sorts of things to work with: old brooms, old sweaters, and all kinds of peculiar tools and materials... I paint to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-use-all-sorts-of-things-to-work-with-old-brooms-old-sweaters-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries in China, it is up to us to organize the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-up-to-us-to-organize-the-people-as-for-the-reactionaries-in/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Photographers who come up with power never get accused of imitating anyone else even though they photograph the same broom, same street, same portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/photographers-who-come-up-with-power-never-get-accused-of-imitating/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands,' said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/draco-malfoy/my-father-s-next-door-buying-my-books-and-mother-s-up-the-street/) [Draco Malfoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/draco-malfoy/) > [There should be less talk. . . . What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-should-be-less-talk-what-do-you-do-then-take-a-broom-and-clean/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Meditation is like a giant broom for sweeping away any stagnant or blocked energy that you may have buried deep in your body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-king/meditation-is-like-a-giant-broom-for-sweeping-away-any-stagnant-or/) [Deborah King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-king/) [Browse all 93 Brooms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Merlin Mann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide-how-many-elephants-can-be-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brooms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide-how-many-elephants-can-be-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/merlin-mann-13792_brooms_never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide_1248760.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never let the guy with the broom decide how many elephants can be in the parade.” — Merlin Mann", "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": "Merlin Mann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never let the guy with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide-how-many-elephants-can-be-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/never-let-the-guy-with-the-broom-decide-how-many-elephants-can-be-in/#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 } } ] } ```