Stewart Brand Quotes

The Congress is not willing to think about the long term. They act like activist shareholders, to use that phrase again. They're not thinking about what can we do that will make us richer, safer, and stronger next year, and the year after, and five and 10 years out.

I think somehow people should be encouraged to think about a very long time horizon and I think this is true for businesses, it's true for governments and it's true for people doing things in the non-profit sector.

I think the biggest single thing that causes difficulty in the business world is the short-term view. We become obsessed with it. But it forces bad decisions.

The most challenging thing for a young entrepreneur is to think long-term. When you are 22 years old, it’s hard to think in 22-year increments since that’s as long as you’ve been alive. But it’s really important to view your life as an entrepreneur as a long journey that consists of many short-term cycles.

You have to do what you think is the right thing, but just make sure it’s the right thing in the long run, and not just for the moment.

Long term thinking is so rare anywhere, but especially in startups. This is a huge advantage if you do it.

I think long-term, not short-term.

The one characteristic more essential than any other is foresight... It should be the growing nation with a future which takes the long look ahead.

Men who think in lifetimes are of little use to statesmanship.

You want to be an alchemist so badly? Don't wait to react to the immediate problem. Plan ahead. Look at the big picture and you won't ever have to deal with that problem. Better to save yourself from a major catastrophe than drag your feet over a bunch of little inconveniences.

We are living in an interminable succession of absurdities imposed by the myopic logic of short-term thinking.

If we think long term, we can accomplish things that we couldn't otherwise accomplish.

We have to use our reasoning capacity and set long-term goals based on our deepest values.

One who thinks and reflects develops his foresight and vision.

A short term view will lead to a partial and perhaps twisted view of the whole picture. A crucial element may be missing. We may not be running the entire race. A friend of mine described a colleague as great at running the "ninety-five yard dash." That is a distinction I can do without. Lacking the last five yards makes the first ninety-five pointless. In fact, serious runners thing of it as a 110 yard dash so that no one will best them in the last few yards. You've got to think beyond the whole.

Whilst large organisations need foresight, they are also notorious in their bias for short term thinking, sometimes rejecting or even suppressing foresight.

Strategic thinking rarely occurs spontaneously

I think all presidents should take the long view of history.

America looks 10 minutes ahead; Japan looks 10 years.

Long-term planning is often undervalued by our indefinite short-term world.

Usually, I'm pretty good about sorting through the options and then making decisions that I'm confident are the best decisions in that moment, given the information we have. But there are times where I think I wish I could have imagined a different level of insight.

We can accomplish almost anything within our ability if we but think we can! Every great achievement in this world was first carefully thought out. Think-but to a purpose. Think constructively. Think as you read. Think as you listen. Think as you travel and your eyes reveal new situations. Think as you work daily at your desk, or in the field, or while strolling. Think to rise and improve your place in life. There can be no advancement or success without serious thought

I think of the need for more wisdom in the world, to deal with the knowledge that we have. At one time we had wisdom, but little knowledge. Now we have a great deal of knowledge, but do we have enough wisdom to deal with that knowledge?

Business is all about learning to balance the short-term, medium-term and long-term and I think it's when things are going well it covers up a lot of mistakes and bad decisions because you're growing so quickly.

I hope people will think very carefully about the future.