Selected Grace Hopper Quotations
• From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.
• If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It's much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.
• It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
• The most dangerous phrase in the language is, "We've always done it this way."
• Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, "We've always done it this way." I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise.
• A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things.
• You don't manage people, you manage things. You lead people.
• Leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one's superiors; care for one's crew.
• One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.
• Some day, on the corporate balance sheet, there will be an entry which reads, "Information"; for in most cases, the information is more valuable than the hardware which processes it.
• We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.
• To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge.
• They told me computers could only do arithmetic.
• In pioneer days they used oxen for heavy pulling, and when one ox couldn't budge a log, they didn't try to grow a larger ox. We shouldn't be trying for bigger computers, but for more systems of computers.
• Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems.
• We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington.
• At any given moment, there is always a line representing what your boss will believe. If you step over it, you will not get your budget. Go as close to that line as you can.
• I seem to do a lot of retiring.
• I handed my passport to the immigration officer, and he looked at it and looked at me and said, "What are you?"
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About These Quotes
Quote collection assembled by Jone Johnson Lewis. Each quotation page in this collection and the entire collection © Jone Johnson Lewis 1997-2009. This is an informal collection assembled over many years. I regret that I am not be able to provide the original source if it is not listed with the quote.
Citation information:
Jone Johnson Lewis. "Grace Hopper Quotes." About Women's History. URL: http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/grace_hopper.htm . Date accessed: (today). (More on how to cite online sources including this page)
