--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Management is nature's way of removing…" description: "\"Management is nature's way of removing idiots from the productive flow.\" — Scott Adams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg" --- # Management is nature's way of removing idiots from the… ![“Management is nature's way of removing idiots from the productive flow.” quote by Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg) > “Management is nature's way of removing idiots from the productive flow.” [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective management filters out those who hinder progress, improving overall productivity. **In simple terms:** Good managers remove obstacles. Key Takeaway Focus on productive contributions. Themes leadership efficiency performance Mood critical analytical Type pragmatic cautionary When to use this quote - project teams - startup hiring - performance reviews - process improvement Key Concepts organizational behavior human resources productivity Questions to Reflect On - How can managers identify true barriers? - What fair methods assess productivity? A Different Perspective Labeling people as “idiots” can be demoralizing and inaccurate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [People are idiots. Including me. Everyone is an idiot, not just the people with the low SAT scores. The only difference is that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/people-are-idiots-including-me-everyone-is-an-idiot-not-just-the/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The Dilbert Principle: People are idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-dilbert-principle-people-are-idiots/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Sometimes idiots can accomplish wonderful things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/sometimes-idiots-can-accomplish-wonderful-things/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I claim that Mach people (and apparently FreeBSD) are incompetent idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-claim-that-mach-people-and-apparently-freebsd-are-incompetent-idiots/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [It is difficult to believe that even idiots ever succumbed to such transparent contradictions, to such gaudy processions of mere counter-words, to so vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/it-is-difficult-to-believe-that-even-idiots-ever-succumbed-to-such/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Las Vegas turns women into men and men into idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bugsy-siegel/las-vegas-turns-women-into-men-and-men-into-idiots/) Bugsy Siegel > [Build a company that idiots could run because eventually they will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-rabois/build-a-company-that-idiots-could-run-because-eventually-they-will/) [Keith Rabois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-rabois/) > [Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/humanity-is-ok-but-99-of-people-are-boring-idiots/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Missing out an apostrophe or two does not make you an idiot. But equating party allegiance with nationhood certainly makes you a thug. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/missing-out-an-apostrophe-or-two-does-not-make-you-an-idiot-but/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [God preserve me from idiots and men in love, which is the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-v-heberden/god-preserve-me-from-idiots-and-men-in-love-which-is-the-same-thing/) M. V. Heberden > [On entering this world our starting-point is ignorance. None, however, but idiots remain there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/on-entering-this-world-our-starting-point-is-ignorance-none-however/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Studio people are idiots. Until they see someone else doing it and make a success of it, they don't open their minds. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-schneider/studio-people-are-idiots-until-they-see-someone-else-doing-it-and/) [Rob Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-schneider/) > [If Girl In Luv, Hr Parents Ask: Who Is Dat Idiot? If Boy In Luv, His Parents Ask: Idiot, Who Is Dat Girl? Moral:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie/if-girl-in-luv-hr-parents-ask-who-is-dat-idiot-if-boy-in-luv-his/) [Sadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie/) > [I'm fed up with the idiots... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who green-light the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-m-fed-up-with-the-idiots-the-ever-widening-gap-between-people-who/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [Solemnity is the shield of idiots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solemnity-is-the-shield-of-idiots/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Scott Adams > [The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-creator-of-the-universe-works-in-mysterious-ways-but-he-uses-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“If you think your odds of solving your problem are bad, don’t rule out the possibility that what is really happening is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-think-your-odds-of-solving-your-problem-are-bad-don-t-rule-out/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Frankly, I’m suspicious of anyone who has a strong opinion on a complicated issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/frankly-i-m-suspicious-of-anyone-who-has-a-strong-opinion-on-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“If you want success, figure out the price, then pay it. It sounds trivial and obvious, but if you unpack the idea it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-want-success-figure-out-the-price-then-pay-it-it-sounds/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Ideas are worthless, execution is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/ideas-are-worthless-execution-is-everything/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Failure always brings something valuable with it. I don’t let it leave until I extract that value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/failure-always-brings-something-valuable-with-it-i-don-t-let-it-leave/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The longer you verk here, diverse it gets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-longer-you-verk-here-diverse-it-gets/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“On all the important stuff, we are emotional creatures who make decisions first and rationalize them after the fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/on-all-the-important-stuff-we-are-emotional-creatures-who-make/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“What you rarely see is a stillborn failure that transmogrifies into a stellar success. Small successes can grow into big ones, but failures rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/what-you-rarely-see-is-a-stillborn-failure-that-transmogrifies-into-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Because everything you perceive is a metaphor for something your brain is not equipped to fully understand. God is as real as the clothes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/because-everything-you-perceive-is-a-metaphor-for-something-your/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Capitalism is rotten at every level, and yet it adds up to something extraordinarily useful for society over time. The paradox of capitalism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/capitalism-is-rotten-at-every-level-and-yet-it-adds-up-to-something/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [The best part about being my age is in knowing how my life worked out. Sure, there's a lot more living to go, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-best-part-about-being-my-age-is-in-knowing-how-my-life-worked-out/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [If you see voters as rational, you'll be a terrible politician. People are not wired to be rational. Our brains simply evolved to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/if-you-see-voters-as-rational-you-ll-be-a-terrible-politician-people/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) [Explore all 418 Scott Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## More Flow quotes > [Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/humanitarian-goods-and-people-must-flow-in-both-directions-gaza/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/forgetting-your-self-is-the-greatest-injury-all-the-calamities-flow/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“When we strike a balance between the challenge of an activity and our skill at performing it, when the rhythm of the work itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-gore/when-we-strike-a-balance-between-the-challenge-of-an-activity-and-our/) [Ariel Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-gore/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [I have this belief about things happening organically. I believe life has this organic flow in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoko-mori/i-have-this-belief-about-things-happening-organically-i-believe-life/) Naoko Mori > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [“Life is a flow which we can either resist or go with it gracefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonmoy-acharjee/life-is-a-flow-which-we-can-either-resist-or-go-with-it-gracefully/) Tonmoy Acharjee > [What a strange power the perception of beauty is! It seems to ebb and flow like some secret tide, independent alike of health and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-benson/what-a-strange-power-the-perception-of-beauty-is-it-seems-to-ebb-and/) [A. C. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-benson/) [Browse all 3,282 Flow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Management is nature's way of removing idiots from the productive flow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Scott Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-idiots-from-the-productive-flow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-idiots-from-the-productive-flow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/scott-adams-666_flow_management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-i_691232.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Management is nature's way of removing idiots from the productive flow.” — Scott Adams", "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": "Scott Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Management is nature's way of removing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-idiots-from-the-productive-flow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/management-is-nature-s-way-of-removing-idiots-from-the-productive-flow/#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 } } ] } ```