My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty… it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.
Meaning of the quote
When one person is good at doing a job, they will usually do it better than if two people tried to do the same job. And if three or more people try to do that same job, it often won't get done at all. This is what George Washington, the first president of the United States, observed. He found that it's best to have one person responsible for a task, rather than trying to divide the work among multiple people.
About George Washington
George Washington was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving as the first President from 1789 to 1797. He played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War and the drafting of the Constitution, cementing his legacy as the “Father of his Country”.
More quotes from George Washington
My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.
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Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my Country.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
It is better to be alone than in bad company.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
It may be laid down as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every Citizen who enjoys the protection of a Free Government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defense of it.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Lenience will operate with greater force, in some instances than rigor. It is therefore my first wish to have all of my conduct distinguished by it.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
War – An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Some day, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty… it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797
Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.
president of the United States from 1789 to 1797