A committee is the only known form of life with a hundred bellies and no brain.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Heinlein uses a biological metaphor to critique committees, suggesting they consume resources without producing thought or decisions.
- In plain terms
- Committees take in a lot but don't produce any good thinking.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid committee inefficiency by limiting group decision-making.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When do committees fail?
- Is consensus always worth the cost?
Another view
It ignores cases where consensus is necessary.
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