67 James Surowiecki Quotes for You to Enjoy

James Surowiecki

American Journalist

Born: Apr 30, 1967

Business Good People Will Work You

Related authors: Ambrose Bierce Dave Barry Erma Bombeck Hunter S. Thompson Mignon McLaughlin Walter Cronkite William F. Buckley, Jr. William Lloyd Garrison

The essence of procrastination lies in not doing what you think you should be doing, a mental contortion that surely accounts for the great psychic toll the habit takes on people. This is the perplexing thing about procrastination: although it seems to involve avoiding unpleasant tasks, indulging in it generally doesn't make people happy. James Surowiecki

Great You Happy People Procrastination Psychic Think Unpleasant Lies About Mental Seems Habit Generally Takes Involve Indulging Make Although Surely Doing Perplexing Accounts Tasks Essence Should Avoiding Toll Thing

If companies tell us more, insider trading will be worth less. James Surowiecki

Worth Will Tell Insider More Trading Us Less Companies

On the simplest level, telecommuting makes it harder for people to have the kinds of informal interactions that are crucial to the way knowledge moves through an organization. The role that hallway chat plays in driving new ideas has become a cliche of business writing, but that doesn't make it less true. James Surowiecki

Knowledge Business People Writing Organization Become Way Kinds Through Chat Crucial Simplest Driving True New Ideas Make Cliche Makes Hallway New Ideas Role Moves Interactions Informal Less Harder Level Plays

Corporate welfare isn't necessarily a bad thing. James Surowiecki

Welfare Corporate Bad Bad Thing Thing Necessarily

The U.S. is excellent at importing cheap products from the rest of the world. Let's try importing some human capital instead. James Surowiecki

World Try Rest Some Excellent Cheap Instead Human Capital Products

Until the nineteen-seventies, Western countries paid little attention to corruption overseas, and bribery was seen as an unpleasant but necessary part of doing business there. In some European countries, businesses were even allowed to deduct bribes as an expense. James Surowiecki

Business Corruption Seen Unpleasant Some Allowed Part Attention Countries Until Doing Were Overseas Western Western Countries Expense Little Little Attention Paid Bribe Bribery Businesses European European Countries Even Necessary

Being out of a job can erode people's confidence and their sense of possibility; and employers, often unfairly, tend to take long-term unemployment as a signal that something is wrong. James Surowiecki

Confidence People Job Sense Signal Possibility Out Something Tend Take Wrong Long-Term Employers Unemployment Often Unfairly Being

Technological innovation has dramatically lowered the cost of computing, making it possible for large numbers of consumers to own powerful new technologies at reasonably low prices. James Surowiecki

If private-equity firms are as good at remaking companies as they claim, they don't need tax loopholes to make money. James Surowiecki

Good Money Claim Make Loopholes Tax Companies Need

The paradox of Steve Jobs's career is that he had no interest in listening to consumers - he was famously dismissive of market research - yet nonetheless had an amazing sense of what consumers actually wanted. James Surowiecki

Amazing Listening Sense Research Market Jobs Paradox No Interest Consumers Had He Steve Nonetheless Wanted Interest Actually Career

The truth is that the United States doesn't need, and shouldn't have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one. James Surowiecki

Truth Truth Is Country Every Other States Fine Exception Democratic Democratic Country Without Does Denmark Ceiling Debt Debt Ceiling United United States Need

You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you value your time and money. James Surowiecki

Disasters redistribute money from taxpayers to construction workers, from insurance companies to homeowners, and even from those who once lived in the destroyed city to those who replace them. It's remarkable that this redistribution can happen so smoothly and quickly, with devastated regions reinventing themselves in a matter of months. James Surowiecki

Construction Money Matter Once Months Those Destroyed City Remarkable Devastated Disasters Redistribution Insurance Insurance Companies Smoothly Replace Quickly Happen Regions Them Themselves Taxpayers Workers Who Companies Even Lived Reinventing

If you work for Google or Apple, stock options give you a chance to share in the increasing value of the company. In the N.F.L., nothing like this happens; the players, though rich, are just working stiffs like the rest of us. James Surowiecki

The autocracies of the Arab world have been as economically destructive as they've been politically repressive. James Surowiecki

World Arab Arab World Destructive Economically Been Politically Repressive

Patrimonial capitalism's legacy is that many people see reform as a euphemism for corruption and self-dealing. James Surowiecki

Capitalism Corruption People See Legacy Reform Euphemism Many

The history of the Internet is, in part, a series of opportunities missed: the major record labels let Apple take over the digital-music business; Blockbuster refused to buy Netflix for a mere fifty million dollars; Excite turned down the chance to acquire Google for less than a million dollars. James Surowiecki

Buy History Business Opportunities Internet Google Down Record Netflix Take Excite Part Mere Missed Over Major Blockbuster Dollars Labels Than Refused The History Of Acquire Turned Fifty Less Series Apple Million Million Dollars Chance

Movies' mistrust of capitalism is almost as old as the medium itself. James Surowiecki

Capitalism Old Medium Almost Mistrust Itself Movies

Political risk is hard to manage because so much comes down to the personal choices of policymakers, whether prime ministers or heads of central banks. James Surowiecki

Political Down Ministers Risk Prime Prime Ministers Heads Policymakers Because Manage Personal Banks Whether Central Much Choices Hard

Markets work best when there's lots of information available and a historical track record to go on; they excel at predicting things like horse races, election outcomes, and box-office results. But they're bad at predicting things like who will be the next Supreme Court nominee, as that depends on the whim of the president. James Surowiecki

Work Best Election Will President Markets Bad Outcomes Record Excel Horse Results Like Supreme Nominee Supreme Court Track Track Record Court Go Lots Historical Depends Information Predicting Whim Available Races Next Who Things

A general principle of good taxation is that similar jobs, and similar kinds of compensation, should be taxed the same way: otherwise, the government is effectively subsidizing some jobs over others. James Surowiecki

Government Good Others Otherwise Way Jobs Kinds Some Similar General Over Principle Effectively Same Taxation Taxed Should Compensation

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