Incompetence Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old incompetence quotes, incompetence sayings, and incompetence proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Incompetence is a double-edged banana. John Perry Barlow
Obscurity is usually the refuge of incompetence. Robert A. Heinlein
Incompetence is often highly regarded in governmental circles. William Wallace
If at first you don't succeed, you may be at your level of incompetence already. Laurence J. Peter
Incompetence is certainty in the absence of expertise. Overconfidence is certainty in the presence of expertise. Malcolm Gladwell
Inconsistency, incompetence, and lies are all cut short by the ground. It will stop you if you can't stop yourself. Mark Twight
A certain combination of incompetence and indifference can cause almost as much suffering as the most acute malevolence. Bruce Catton
Arrogance, ignorance, and incompetence. Not a pretty cocktail of personality traits in the best of situations. No sirree. Not a pretty cocktail in an office-mate and not a pretty cocktail in a head of state. In fact, in a leader, it's a lethal cocktail. Graydon Carter
Never attribute to malevolence what is merely due to incompetence. Arthur C. Clarke
One of the chief features of incompetence was an inability to see it in oneself. Kim Stanley Robinson
When success and incompetence meet, disaster is not far away. Robert Kiyosaki
Incompetence is the true crisis. Albert Einstein
It happens; incompetence is rewarded more often than not. Jeff Lindsay
Sometimes incompetence is useful. It helps you keep an open mind. Roberto Cavalli
The problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself. Orrin Woodward
The English think that incompetence is the same thing as sincerity. Quentin Crisp
Secrecy breeds incompetence because where there is failure, failure is kept secret. Julian Assange
Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence. Laurence J. Peter
Authoritarianism and secrecy breed incompetence; the two feed on each other. It's a vicious cycle. Governments with authoritarian tendencies point to what is in fact their own incompetence as the rationale for giving them yet more power. Josh Marshall
Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity. Peter Bergen
If there is any one proof of a man's incompetence, it is the stagnant mentality of a worker who, doing some small routine job in a vast undertaking, does not care to look beyond the lever of a machine, does not choose to know how the machine got there or what makes his job possible, and proclaims that the management of the undertaking is parasitical and unnecessary. Ayn Rand
Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy. Niccolo Machiavelli
Incompetence, in my books, is the failure of the critical faculties to interfere constructively with the natural flow. Robert Genn
Man cannot live by incompetence alone. Charlotte Whitton
The price of loyalty is incompetence. Jonathan Alter
One moment of incompetence can be fatal. Frank Herbert
Laziness has become the chief characteristic of journalism, displacing incompetence. Kingsley Amis
The most dangerous irony is, people are angry with others because of their own incompetence. Amit Kalantri
Any constraint is part of the skeleton that you build the composition on - including your own incompetence. Brian Eno
The Andrew Principle is when the incompetence of an organization exceeds the incompetence of certain individuals within that organization, thereby allowing their promotion within said organization. Chris Alexander
Incompetence plus incompetence equals incompetence. Laurence J. Peter
Ignorance is the worst liberation. To know even a few is better than knowing nothing at all. Michael Bassey Johnson