Notes from Wikiquote
As quoted in the U.S. Navy's Chips Ahoy magazine (July 1986) | As quoted in Built to Learn: The Inside Story of How Rockwell Collins Became a True Learning Organization (2003) by Cliff Purington, Chris Butler, and Sarah Fister Gale, p. 171 | The future: Hardware, Software, and People in Carver, 1983
Variants
If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission. || That brings me to the most important piece of advice that I can give to all of you: if you've got a good idea, and it's a contribution, I want you to go ahead and DO IT. It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.