The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Accountability
A man is worthy of praise or blame solely on account of those actions which lie within his power to do or not to do.
Leonardo da Vinci The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci · 1888

Quotes

“Don’t ever get angry at a man for stating the truth.”

Ayn Rand · Atlas Shrugged, 1957 · Primary source

“There’s an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.”

John F. Kennedy · Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs News Conference, 1961 · Primary source

“I am the responsible officer of the government [regarding the failed invasion of Cuba].”

John F. Kennedy · Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs News Conference, 1961 · Primary source

“It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”

Eleanor Roosevelt · My Day, 1935-1962 · Primary source

“In all branches of commerce and industry, history shows dramatic reduction in the error rates when their cost is brought back from the customer to the perpetrator.”

Tony Hoare · How Did Software Get So Reliable Without Proof?, 1996 · Primary source

“Delegation without follow-through is abdication. You can never wash your hands of a task.”

Andrew S. Grove · High Output Management, 1983 · Primary source

“Be always ashamed to catch thyself idle.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Do not do that which you would not have known.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Pardoning the bad, is injuring the good.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“The man who is good at making an excuse, is seldom good at any thing else.”

Benjamin Franklin · Liber Facetiarum: Being a Collection of Curious and Interesting Anecdotes, 1809 · Secondary source

“I have adhered to my rule of never criticizing any measure of war or policy after the event unless I had before expressed publicly or formally my opinion or warning about it.”

Winston Churchill · The Second World War, 1948-1953 · Primary source

“Above all, he liked it that everything was one’s own fault. There was only oneself to praise or blame. Luck was a servant and not a master. Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt. But it had to be understood and recognized for what it was and not confused with a faulty appreciation of the odds, for, at gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck. And luck in all its moods had to be loved and not feared.”

Ian Fleming · Casino Royale, 1953 · Primary source

“For of those to whom much is given, much is required.”

John F. Kennedy · The City Upon a Hill Speech, 1961 · Primary source

“He who does not punish evil commands it to be done.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

Related Tags

Quality control 1 Error reduction 1 Incentives 5 Responsibility 27 Delegation 1 Follow-through 3 Oversight 2 Truth 16 Honesty 11 Emotional restraint 2 Candour 2 Idleness 6 Industry 17 Self-discipline 19 Use of time 3 Integrity 19 Secrecy 4 Conscience 12 Reputation 16 Pardon 1 Justice 9 Clemency 1 Public protection 1 Excuses 1 Competence 1 Hindsight 1 Consistency 9 Public judgement 1 Intellectual honesty 1 Luck 2 Risk 27 Judgement 29 Public service 7 Privilege 1 Stewardship 1 Failure 11 Credit and blame 1 Leadership 6 Presidential responsibility 1 Bay of Pigs 2 Executive leadership 2 Moral agency 1 Choice 5 Control 2 Punishment 2 Wrongdoing 1 Deterrence 12 Fairness 2 Leadership by example 1