When eating an elephant take one at a time.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Abrams advises breaking down large daunting tasks into small manageable steps.
- In plain terms
- Finish big jobs by doing one small part at a time.
- What can you take from it?
- Small steps make big tasks achievable.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you start a huge task?
- Is size more than just one thing at a time?
Another view
Some problems cannot be easily broken down into linear steps.
More from Creighton Abrams
Give a soldier an anvil, just a hunk of metal, and drive him out into the desert and leave him. In two weeks - when you go to get him, the anvil will be broken.
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