A child is being properly educated only when he is learning to become independent of his parents. — Hyman Rickover

The Devil is in the details, but so is salvation. — Hyman G. Rickover

How the hell are you supposed to know what God wants you to do with your life, eh? — Hyman Rickover

Knowing more about the public effects his work will have, the engineer ought to consider himself an ‘officer of the court’ and keep the general interest always in mind. — Hyman Rickover

When the men in Russia foul up, they are dismisses, sometimes losing their necks. But we protect those who fail and press them to the government bosom. — Hyman Rickover

It is necessary for us to learn from others’ mistakes. You will not live long enough to make them all yourself. — Hyman George Rickover

When doing a job–any job–one must feel that he owns it, and act as though he will remain in that job forever. — Hyman G. Rickover

I have a son. I love my son. I want everything that I do to be so safe that I would be happy to have my son operating it. That’s my fundamental rule. — Hyman Rickover

Any one detail, followed through to its source, will usually reveal the general state of readiness of the whole organization. — Hyman Rickover

Trying to make things work in government is sometimes like trying to sew a button on a custard pie. — Hyman Rickover

It is a human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. A successful manager must resist this temptation. — Hyman Rickover

A system under which it takes three men to check what one is doing is not control; it is systematic strangulation. — Hyman Rickover

The man in charge must concern himself with details. If he does not consider them important, neither will his subordinates. — Hyman Rickover

Free discussion requires an atmosphere unembarrassed by any suggestion of authority or even respect. — Hyman Rickover

The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. — Hyman G. Rickover

We bury the men who do the nation’s creative work under layers of administrators and mountains of memoranda. We shrivel creativity by endless frustrations. — Hyman Rickover

All new ideas begin in a non–conforming mind that questions some tenet of the conventional wisdom. — Hyman Rickover

Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courage and patience. — Hyman Rickover

Success teaches us nothing; only failure teaches. — Hyman G. Rickover

Those involved with practical reactors, humbled by their experiences, speak less and worry more. — Hyman Rickover

To doubt one’s own first principles is the mark of a civilized man. Don’t defend past actions; what is right today may be wrong tomorrow. Don’t be consistent; consistency is the refuge of fools. — Hyman Rickover

Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous impatience. — Hyman Rickover

Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one’s arguments. Weaknesses overlooked in oral discussion become painfully obvious on the written page. — Hyman G. Rickover

The devil is in the details, and everything we do in the military is a detail. — Hyman Rickover

I have the charisma of the chipmunk. I never have thought I was smart. I thought the people I dealt with were dumb. — Hyman George Rickover

Thoughts arising from practical experience may be a bridle or a spur. — Hyman Rickover

Above all, we should bear in mind that our liberty is not an end in itself; it is a means to win respect for human dignity for all classes of our society. — Hyman Rickover

If you’re going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy; God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won’t. — Hyman Rickover