J. P. Morgan Quotes

No matter how complicated a problem is, it usually can be reduced to a simple, comprehensible form which is often the best solution.

You can't fix a problem if you don't have the words to describe it. You can't even think about it clearly.

To solve a problem, you have to be able to state what the problem is or at least say the name.

A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved.

My favourite subjects at school were algebra and logic: making a big problem into something small.

They are deceptively simple. I admit that. But for me, all my life I try to simplify things. As a child in school, things were very hard for me to understand often, and I developed a knack, I think. I developed a process to simplify things so I would understand them.

If you don't define the problem you'll never reach a painful solution.

When there is a problem, always identify and evaluate your underlying assumptions that may be contributing to the problem or preventing you from seeing the problem clearly.

Every situation, no matter how complex it initially looks, is exceedingly simple.

Simplicity is about clarity of thought and being willing to stay in a problem long enough to come to a solution, though it could be right in front of you.

There is no problem so complicated that you can't find a very simple answer to it if you look at it right.

If you can properly define the problem, then you've already defined the solution as well.

What intrigues us as a problem, and what will satisfy us as a solution, will depend upon the line we draw between what is already clear and what needs to be clarified.

If you get the question right, if you really define it, then the answers are just sitting there waiting for you. And it's something a little different than people usually think.

Always make the choice to learn. What Princeton taught me was whatever mess you are studying, pull a thread with great persistence 'til you have clarity of thought. Princeton taught me how to solve a problem. How to think - that's what we pull out of this place.

Before it can be solved, a problem must be clearly defined.

That's all managing is: just coming up with the right questions and getting the right answers.

Asking a question is the simplest way of focusing thinking...asking the right question may be the most important part of thinking.

The way to keep yourself from making assumptions is to ask questions.

Complexity has and will maintain a strong fascination for many people. It is true that we live in a complex world and strive to solve inherently complex problems, which often do require complex mechanisms. However, this should not diminish our desire for elegant solutions, which convince by their clarity and effectiveness. Simple, elegant solutions are more effective, but they are harder to find than complex ones, and they require more time, which we too often believe to be unaffordable

The confidence in the unlimited power of science is only too often based on a false belief that the scientific method consists in the application of a ready-made technique, or in imitating the form rather than the substance of scientific procedure, as if one needed only to follow some cooking recipes to solve all social problems. It sometimes almost seems as if the techniques of science were more easily learnt than the thinking that shows us what the problems are and how to approach them.

..things are never as complicated as they seem. It is only our arrogance that prompts us to find unnecessarily complicated answers to simple problems.

Mechanical rules are never a substitute for clarity of thought.

If you want to "get in touch with your feelings," fine, talk to yourself. We all do. But if you want to communicate with another thinking human being, get in touch with your thoughts. Put them in order, give them a purpose, use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce. The secret way to do this is to write it down, and then cut out the confusing parts.

The most common source of mistakes in management decisions is the emphasis on finding the right answer rather than the right question.