48 Quotes by C. Northcote Parkinson

Parkinson's Law is a purely scientific discovery, inapplicable except in theory to the politics of the day. It is not the business of the botanist to eradicate the weeds. Enough for him if he can tell us just how fast they grow.

Expansion means complexity and complexity decay.

Where life is colorful and varied, religion can be austere or unimportant. Where life is appallingly monotonous, religion must be emotional, dramatic and intense. Without the curry, boiled rice can be very dull.

The onset of one religion can be resisted only by another.

Deliberative bodies become decreasingly effective after they pass five to eight members.

It is now well known, however, that men enter local politics solely as a result of being unhappily married.

Perfection of planning is a symptom of decay. During a period of exciting discovery or progress, there is no time to plan the perfect headquarters.

It is the busiest man who has time to spare.

Imagination is essential and it comes first, for without imagination we are aimless.