C. Northcote Parkinson

delay deadly denial

“Delay is the deadliest form of denial.”

― C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

communication failure poison drivel

“The void created by the failure to communicate is soon filled with poison, drivel and misrepresentation. ”

― C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

work time available

“Work gets done in the time available.”

― C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

automate society boredom

“The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.”

― C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

paperwork initiative notice

"The man whose life is devoted to paperwork has lost the initiative. He is dealing with things that are brought to his notice, having ceased to notice anything for himself."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

deny decision important allow

"The man who is denied the opportunity of taking decisions of importance begins to regard as important the decisions he is allowed to take."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

organisation entity 21 member power

"When any organizational entity expands beyond 21 members, the real power will be in some smaller body."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

perfection plan institution collapse

"Perfection of planned layout is achieved only by institutions on the point of collapse."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

people sovereign poor government disposal rich

"Make the people sovereign and the poor will use the machinery of government to dispossess the rich."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

law triviality time spent inverse proportional sum

"The Law of Triviality... briefly stated, it means that the time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

committee organic plant grow seed

"A committee is organic rather than mechanical in its nature: it is not a structure but a plant. It takes root and grows, it flowers, wilts, and dies, scattering the seed from which other committees will bloom in their turn."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

expansion complexity decay

"Expansion means complexity and complexity decay."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

small function greater management

"The smaller the function, the greater the management."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

men politics unhappy marriage

"Men enter local politics solely as a result of being unhappily married."

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)

work expand time parkinson law

"work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" (Parkinson's Law)

—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993)