---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Decisions by committee are almost always…"
description: "\"“Decisions by committee are almost always long in coming and dead wrong. A world-changing vision comes from one person, not five or or twenty or a hund..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png"
---

#  Decisions by committee are almost always long in coming…

![“Decisions by committee are almost always long in coming and dead wrong. A world-changing vision comes from one person, not five or or twenty or a hundred, and more often than not, the best of plans are laid to waste by the many.” quote by Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png)

> ““Decisions by committee are almost always long in coming and dead wrong. A world-changing vision comes from one person, not five or or twenty or a hundred, and more often than not, the best of plans are laid to waste by the many.””

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Committee decisions stall and err; singular vision drives transformative change.

**In simple terms:** Too many voices hinder progress.

Key Takeaway

Empower decisive leadership.

Themes

leadership vision decision-making

Mood

critical optimistic

Type

strategic motivational

When to use this quote

- business strategy
- political reform
- creative projects

Key Concepts

strategic thinking innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- When is collaboration essential?
- How to balance vision with input?

A Different Perspective

Collective input can improve ideas.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Changing Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-vision-346407/) [Committee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committee/) [Committee Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committee-long-3634410/) [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Decisions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisions/) [Decisions Committee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decisions-committee-4752961/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Vision Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision-comes-1425237/) [World-change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-change/)

## Related quotes

> [For eight years, I've served on the Indian Affairs committee, two years as the ranking member. I've been on that committee since Day One.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/for-eight-years-i-ve-served-on-the-indian-affairs-committee-two-years/)

[Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/)

> [Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to fit the vision, instead we are always changing the vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/progress-should-mean-that-we-are-always-changing-the-world-to-fit-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [As long as the vision of heaven is always changing, the vision of earth will be exactly the same. No ideal will remain long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-long-as-the-vision-of-heaven-is-always-changing-the-vision-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A world-changing vision often necessitates a profound simplicity in the user experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-gebbia/a-world-changing-vision-often-necessitates-a-profound-simplicity-in/)

[Joe Gebbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-gebbia/)

> [We spend our lives searching for something we think we don't have, something that will make us happy. But the key to our deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/we-spend-our-lives-searching-for-something-we-think-we-don-t-have/)

[Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/)

> [“I no longer follow the voices of the sane. I follow the ill because they see farther, feel much more and change what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/i-no-longer-follow-the-voices-of-the-sane-i-follow-the-ill-because/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

> [“While it is easy to become paralyzed by the world's suffering and the inequalities created by corruption and greed, we actually hold immense power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hatmaker/while-it-is-easy-to-become-paralyzed-by-the-world-s-suffering-and-the/)

[Jen Hatmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hatmaker/)

> [“Sometimes all we have is a little light that we can shine outward into a big darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janisse-ray/sometimes-all-we-have-is-a-little-light-that-we-can-shine-outward/)

[Janisse Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janisse-ray/)

> [“The world is changed one question at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/the-world-is-changed-one-question-at-a-time/)

[Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/)

> [“The human body resonates at the same frequency as Mother Earth. So instead of only focusing on trying to save the earth, which operates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-human-body-resonates-at-the-same-frequency-as-mother-earth-so/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [“Working with women is such a rewarding experience because as you interact with them, you realize that although they face various struggles; women have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/working-with-women-is-such-a-rewarding-experience-because-as-you/)

[Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/)

> [“Apple at the core, its core value, is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better. … And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/apple-at-the-core-its-core-value-is-that-we-believe-that-people-with/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [“Reach out and help others. If you have the power to make someone happy, do it. Be a vessel, be the change, be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/reach-out-and-help-others-if-you-have-the-power-to-make-someone-happy/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [“The right words can change your whole world!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-b-urbach/the-right-words-can-change-your-whole-world/)

[Nancy B. Urbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-b-urbach/)

## More by Patrick Carman

> [You can't be gone. I need you here, with me. What am I going to do without you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/you-can-t-be-gone-i-need-you-here-with-me-what-am-i-going-to-do/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“after allthe events of the previous summer he was more prtective then ever,and i whanted to be sure i knew the rules i'd be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/after-allthe-events-of-the-previous-summer-he-was-more-prtective-then/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“I could not disagree more,” said Ganesh, my father giving me a hidden wink. “If we build toward them they’ll see it as hostile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/i-could-not-disagree-more-said-ganesh-my-father-giving-me-a-hidden/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“Life is better without the walls, everyone agrees. Still, sometimes I'm afraid of the outside world, and every so often in my private thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/life-is-better-without-the-walls-everyone-agrees-still-sometimes-i-m/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“That thing, that tiny part of The Land of Elyon, is gone but not entirely forgotten. Elyon had his reason for sending you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/that-thing-that-tiny-part-of-the-land-of-elyon-is-gone-but-not/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [But sometimes you have to wait for an answer to come to you. Especially when the questions are difficult ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/but-sometimes-you-have-to-wait-for-an-answer-to-come-to-you/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [My way is set as in stone, and I don't feel the need to veer off any longer. It has taken many days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/my-way-is-set-as-in-stone-and-i-don-t-feel-the-need-to-veer-off-any/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [Bang! Bang! Bang! Sorry Mr. Yipes, sir, she won't budge!' Put your back into it, man, give it all you've got!' Bang! Bang! Bang!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/bang-bang-bang-sorry-mr-yipes-sir-she-won-t-budge-put-your-back-into/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [I really hope that all librarians aren't like Gladys Morgan. Because I'd really like , at some point, to walk into a library and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/i-really-hope-that-all-librarians-aren-t-like-gladys-morgan-because-i/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [As exciting, difficult, and memorable as our past can be, there comes a time when we have to get on with living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/as-exciting-difficult-and-memorable-as-our-past-can-be-there-comes-a/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“The hardest thing to find is peace, though it lay in plain view”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/the-hardest-thing-to-find-is-peace-though-it-lay-in-plain-view/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [It occurred to me then that it was in times of struggle that I found the best parts of myself - courage, loyalty, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/it-occurred-to-me-then-that-it-was-in-times-of-struggle-that-i-found/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“There would be times in the years to come when he ( Murphy ) would accompany me back and forth between the two worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/there-would-be-times-in-the-years-to-come-when-he-murphy-would/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“Did I mention you're going to have to drive on our date?" I asked. "Cheap bastard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/did-i-mention-you-re-going-to-have-to-drive-on-our-date-i-asked-cheap/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

> [“I kind of felt like he carried his whole self around with him. When he was with me, he was really with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/i-kind-of-felt-like-he-carried-his-whole-self-around-with-him-when-he/)

[Patrick Carman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

[Explore all 53 Patrick Carman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/)

## More Committee quotes

> [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/)

[Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/)

> [What is interesting in Washington, D.C., is I've never missed a vote. The veterans' committee keeps track of hearings, and I've never missed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/what-is-interesting-in-washington-d-c-is-i-ve-never-missed-a-vote-the/)

[Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/)

> [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/)

[Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/)

> [It is necessary to get a lot of men together, for the show of the thing, otherwise the world will not believe. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/it-is-necessary-to-get-a-lot-of-men-together-for-the-show-of-the/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [Government likes committees... a lot. Committees kill all the really good ideas and generally all the really bad ideas. They produce middle-ground mush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-devos/government-likes-committees-a-lot-committees-kill-all-the-really-good/)

[Betsy DeVos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-devos/)

> [If the many allegations made to this date are true, then the burglars who broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ervin/if-the-many-allegations-made-to-this-date-are-true-then-the-burglars/)

[Sam Ervin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ervin/)

> [One of the great joys this year and the year before has been how all of the people in this body, men and women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hayes/one-of-the-great-joys-this-year-and-the-year-before-has-been-how-all/)

[Robin Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hayes/)

> [I was sent there by the Free Congress Committee, headed by Paul Weyrich. Fred Smith and I were sent down as observers, with reporters'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dixie-lee-ray/i-was-sent-there-by-the-free-congress-committee-headed-by-paul/)

[Dixie Lee Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dixie-lee-ray/)

> [Some people advocate public nomination and a three-track system - allowing voters and political parties to make nominations along with the committee. These people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lam/some-people-advocate-public-nomination-and-a-three-track-system/)

[Carrie Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lam/)

> [As you know in this committee, we have all of HUD, and HUD is responsible for so many programs that determine the quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/as-you-know-in-this-committee-we-have-all-of-hud-and-hud-is/)

[Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/)

> [I believe in a running back by committee. Always have. Always been taught that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dorsey/i-believe-in-a-running-back-by-committee-always-have-always-been/)

[John Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dorsey/)

> [As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee - the chief tax-writing body in Congress - I understand that true comprehensive tax reform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brady/as-chairman-of-the-house-ways-and-means-committee-the-chief-tax/)

[Kevin Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brady/)

> [Committees are to get everybody together and homogenize their thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/committees-are-to-get-everybody-together-and-homogenize-their-thinking/)

[Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/)

> [I'm chairing a UNESCO committee on how to improve global Internet communications for science; help third-world people get onto the Net so they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-lederberg/i-m-chairing-a-unesco-committee-on-how-to-improve-global-internet/)

[Joshua Lederberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-lederberg/)

> [Committees are consumers and sometimes sterilizers of ideas, rarely creators of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/committees-are-consumers-and-sometimes-sterilizers-of-ideas-rarely/)

[Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/)

[Browse all 337 Committee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committee/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Decisions by committee are almost always long in coming and dead wrong. A world-changing vision comes from one person, not five or or twenty or a hundred, and more often than not, the best of plans are laid to waste by the many.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Patrick Carman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always-long-in-coming-and-dead/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Committee"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always-long-in-coming-and-dead/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/851/patrick-carman-12154_committee_decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always_2999255.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Decisions by committee are almost always long in coming and dead wrong. A world-changing vision comes from…” — Patrick Carman",
                "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": "Patrick Carman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-carman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Decisions by committee are almost always...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always-long-in-coming-and-dead/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-carman/decisions-by-committee-are-almost-always-long-in-coming-and-dead/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
