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A perfection of planned layout is achieved only by institutions on the point of collapse.

— C. Northcote Parkinson Parkinson's Law: and Other Studies in Administration (1957)

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More quotes by C. Northcote Parkinson

The time spent on any item of the agenda will be in inverse proportion to the sum involved.

Parkinson's Law: and Other Studies in Administration (1957)

Expansion means complexity, and complexity decay.

In-laws and Outlaws (1962)

The man whose life is devoted to paperwork has lost the initiative. He is dealing with things that are brought to his notice, having ceased to notice anything for himself.

In-laws and Outlaws (1962)

It is not the business of the botanist to eradicate the weeds. Enough for him if he can tell us just how fast they grow.

Delay is the deadliest form of denial.

The Law of Delay (1970)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: C. Northcote Parkinson (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.