Could Hamlet have been written by a committee, or the Mona Lisa painted by a club? Could the New Testament have been composed as a conference report? Creative ideas do not spring from groups. They spring from individuals. The divine spark leaps from the finger of God to the finger of Adam, whether it takes ultimate shape in a law of physics or a law of the land, a poem or a policy, a sonata or a mechanical computer.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Great ideas come from individuals, not committees.
- In plain terms
- Innovation needs individuals, not groups.
- What can you take from it?
- Protect individual creativity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When do groups help or hinder?
- How do you nurture creativity?
Another view
Collaboration often aids development.
More from Alfred Whitney Griswold
Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only sure wea…
Permalink to quote #2 Liberal learning is both a safeguard against false ideas of freedom and a source of true ones.
Permalink to quote #3 A Socrates in every classroom.
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
'Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.'
Colin PowellColin Powell quote #15 Don't keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods. You will be certain to find something you have never…
Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell quote #16 Do not follow where the path may lead... Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Robert FrostRobert Frost quote #134