'If there is a 50-50 chance that something can go wrong, then 9 times out of ten it will.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- When risk exists, failure is more likely to occur than simple probability suggests.
- In plain terms
- Things that can go wrong usually do.
- What can you take from it?
- Plan for failures even if they seem unlikely.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you prepare for things going wrong?
- Why do errors happen more than expected?
Another view
Some systems are designed to prevent this pattern.
More from Paul Harvey
'Golf is a game in which you yell 'Fore!', shoot six, and write down five ...'
Permalink to quote #37 '... we sent men with rifles into Afghanistan and Iraq and kept our best weapons in their silos.' (2005 broadcast)
Permalink to quote #36 'Mr. President [Richard Nixon], I love you, but you're wrong. (on the Vietnam War)'
Permalink to quote #35
Related quotes
This will end in tears.
Ozzy OsbourneOzzy Osbourne quote #30 'If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure.'
Dan QuayleDan Quayle quote #30 Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel): 'How could this happen? I was so careful. I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast. Where did I go right?'
Mel BrooksMel Brooks quote #39