--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A rule to live by: I won't use anything I…" description: "\"A rule to live by: I won't use anything I can't explain in five minutes.\" — Phil Crosby" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png" --- # A rule to live by: I won't use anything I can't explain in… ![“A rule to live by: I won't use anything I can't explain in five minutes.” quote by Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png) > “A rule to live by: I won't use anything I can't explain in five minutes.” [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only use tools or methods you can explain simply within five minutes, ensuring clarity and reliability. **In simple terms:** Use only what you can quickly explain. Key Takeaway Prioritize simplicity and transparency. Themes simplicity clarity quality control Mood practical analytical Type educational technical When to use this quote - training sessions - project planning - product design Key Concepts systems thinking communication process improvement Questions to Reflect On - Can you explain this concept in three sentences? - What tools are too complex for quick explanation? A Different Perspective Complex issues may need deeper explanation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [your culture has become sophisticated, like a computer, or a drug that you take for a headache. 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It's boring and it's depressing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/the-problem-with-movies-and-books-is-they-make-evil-look-glamorous/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [But the two of them together, broke my heart. Olympia and Peter, those scenes... When they're kissing in their 20s and then kissing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/but-the-two-of-them-together-broke-my-heart-olympia-and-peter-those/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [What I tell a girl is, your six-pack hot boyfriend right now, in six years, will be balding and maybe have a paunch. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vir-das/what-i-tell-a-girl-is-your-six-pack-hot-boyfriend-right-now-in-six/) [Vir Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vir-das/) > [In five minutes the earth would be a desert, and you cling to books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/in-five-minutes-the-earth-would-be-a-desert-and-you-cling-to-books/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Peace of mind for five minutes, that's what I crave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-morissette/peace-of-mind-for-five-minutes-that-s-what-i-crave/) [Alanis Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-morissette/) > [I make it a rule always to believe compliments implicitly for five minutes, and to simmer gently for twenty more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-james/i-make-it-a-rule-always-to-believe-compliments-implicitly-for-five/) [Alice James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-james/) > [My biggest fear is overreaching. I have been in situations where I felt swamped, and it's turned out really well; and I've had other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/my-biggest-fear-is-overreaching-i-have-been-in-situations-where-i/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [A Sufi mystic who had always remained happy was asked… For seventy years people had watched him, he had never been found sad. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-sufi-mystic-who-had-always-remained-happy-was-asked-for-seventy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Like I said, a sketch is one joke. They shouldn't really be more than a minute, two minutes. There are some shows where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-andre/like-i-said-a-sketch-is-one-joke-they-shouldn-t-really-be-more-than-a/) [Eric Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-andre/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) ## More by Phil Crosby > [You don't have to be noisy to be effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/you-don-t-have-to-be-noisy-to-be-effective/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [We must define quality as conformance to specifications if we are to manage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/we-must-define-quality-as-conformance-to-specifications-if-we-are-to/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Selecting the right person for the right job is the largest part of coaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/selecting-the-right-person-for-the-right-job-is-the-largest-part-of/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Slowness to change usually means fear of the new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/slowness-to-change-usually-means-fear-of-the-new/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Quality means conformance to requirements, not elegance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/quality-means-conformance-to-requirements-not-elegance/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Successful people breed success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/successful-people-breed-success/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Being convinced one knows the whole story is the surest way to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/being-convinced-one-knows-the-whole-story-is-the-surest-way-to-fail/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Change should be a friend. It should happen by plan, not by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/change-should-be-a-friend-it-should-happen-by-plan-not-by-accident/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [The cost of quality is the expense of doing things wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/the-cost-of-quality-is-the-expense-of-doing-things-wrong/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [You are going to be measured anyway by some means, fair or foul. Usually the one doing the measuring has nothing specific in mind;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/you-are-going-to-be-measured-anyway-by-some-means-fair-or-foul/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [It isn't what you find, it's what you do about what you find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/it-isn-t-what-you-find-it-s-what-you-do-about-what-you-find/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Improving quality requires a culture change, not just a new diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/improving-quality-requires-a-culture-change-not-just-a-new-diet/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [You have to lead people gently toward what they already know is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/you-have-to-lead-people-gently-toward-what-they-already-know-is-right/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [When you're out of quality, you're out of business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/when-you-re-out-of-quality-you-re-out-of-business/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) > [Quality is the result of a carefully constructed cultural environment. It has to be the fabric of the organization, not part of the fabric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/quality-is-the-result-of-a-carefully-constructed-cultural-environment/) [Phil Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) [Explore all 38 Phil Crosby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/) ## More Explain quotes > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [If you have a good idea you must explain it or you will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-have-a-good-idea-you-must-explain-it-or-you-will-fail/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [How do you explain a person like Asha Bhosle? A star or a super star or just someone from the Gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anu-malik/how-do-you-explain-a-person-like-asha-bhosle-a-star-or-a-super-star/) [Anu Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anu-malik/) > [If you win you need not explain……But if you lose you should not be there to explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-win-you-need-not-explain-but-if-you-lose-you-should-not-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm afraid I can't explain myself, sir. Because I am not myself, you see?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-m-afraid-i-can-t-explain-myself-sir-because-i-am-not-myself-you-see/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [There is an indefinable quality possessed by some artists. You simply can't explain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-ellen/there-is-an-indefinable-quality-possessed-by-some-artists-you-simply/) [Vera-Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-ellen/) > [To be in a room and have to explain your point of view is a huge skill in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-savage/to-be-in-a-room-and-have-to-explain-your-point-of-view-is-a-huge/) [Stephanie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-savage/) > [“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-that-truth-matters-to-us/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [When I'm creating art or music, when something is resonating or a scene is going well, that almost feels religious to me... there's this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-thatcher/when-i-m-creating-art-or-music-when-something-is-resonating-or-a/) [Sophie Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-thatcher/) > [In a Western, you don't over-explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/in-a-western-you-don-t-over-explain/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [I explain at the parties that I believe knitting is a transformative and intriguing act that can change the life and brain of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/i-explain-at-the-parties-that-i-believe-knitting-is-a-transformative/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [Old cookbooks connect you to your past and explain the history of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-cookbooks-connect-you-to-your-past-and-explain-the-history-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no way to explain enlightenment. It is just a word to indicate something beyond, something very, very far beyond the normal human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-is-no-way-to-explain-enlightenment-it-is-just-a-word-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) Browse all 989 Explain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A rule to live by: I won't use anything I can't explain in five minutes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Phil Crosby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i-can-t-explain-in-five-minutes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Explain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i-can-t-explain-in-five-minutes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/phil-crosby-16889_explain_a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i_1198112.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A rule to live by: I won't use anything I can't explain in five minutes.” — Phil Crosby", "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": "Phil Crosby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-crosby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A rule to live by: I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i-can-t-explain-in-five-minutes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-crosby/a-rule-to-live-by-i-won-t-use-anything-i-can-t-explain-in-five-minutes/#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 } } ] } ```