Mardy Grothe - Neverisms

Never underestimate the power of self-absorption,

including your parents’ self-absorption.RITA MAE BROWN

Never underestimate the role pretension plays

when it comes to creating euphemistic language.GEORGE CARLIN

Never underestimate the effectiveness of a straight cash bribe.CLAUD COCKBURN, from In Time of Trouble (1956)

In 1993, Edward E. Sanders gave his book on buying with cash a similar title: Never Underestimate the Power of Cash Deals.

Never underestimate the emotional impact you have as a leader.LEE COCKERELL, former Disney Executive

Vice President, in Creating Magic (2008)

Never overestimate the literacy or the attention span

of people who are terribly, terribly busy.JOHN COWAN

Never underestimate the quality of state schools.

By far they are the most economical and wisest choice

when pursuing an undergraduate degree.ANTHONY J. D’ANGELO, in The College Blue Book (1995)

Never underestimate the ability of a teenager.KEN DAVIS

Davis offered this in a 1988 guide for teens titled How to Live with Your Parents Without Losing Your Mind. Alluding to the biblical figure who slayed Goliath, he wrote: “From the time of David up to now, teenagers like you have distinguished themselves in history by proving that when they put their minds to something, they can frequently do it better and with more conviction than most adults.”

Never underestimate an adversary.DANNY DE VITO, to Michael Douglas,

in the 1989 film The War of the Roses

De Vito, in the role of divorce attorney Gavin D’Amato, is referring to Barbara Rose (Kathleen Turner) as he offers this advice to client Oliver Rose (played by Douglas). Oliver ignores the advice, a decision he will ultimately regret.

Never underestimate the powers of a librarian in the age of the Internet.ANITA DIAMANT, from a character

in her 2001 novel Good Harbor

Never overestimate the competence of those around you.CHARLES HARRINGTON ELSTER & JOSEPH ELLIOT

This appeared in Tooth and Nail: A Novel Approach to the New SAT (1994), an SAT preparation book in the form of a mystery novel.

Never underestimate a parent’s ability to mortify his child.PETER GALLAGHER, as Sanford “Sandy” Cohen

in a 2004 episode of The O.C.

Never underestimate the effect

being confronted by the FBI will have on a suspect.THOMAS GIBSON, as Special Agent Aaron Hotchner in a

2007 episode of the CBS-TV series Criminal Minds

Never underestimate the insecurity of a star.WILLIAM GOLDMAN, in Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983)

Never overestimate the depth of anti-intellectual traditions.STEPHEN JAY GOULD, in Bully For Brontosaurus (1991)

In a chapter on “The Dinosaur Rip-off,” Gould reported on a survey in which 30 percent of American adults believed that dinosaurs and human beings inhabited the Earth at the same time—a view rejected by all respected scientists. Gould wrote the book three decades ago, and I can only imagine what he might have to say today about the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, which presents an account of man’s early history according to a literal reading of the Book of Genesis. The museum, which opened in 2007, portrays human beings and dinosaurs as coexisting in a world created over a six-day period approximately six thousand years ago.

Never underestimate the effect a mother’s love has on a child,

even when that child becomes an adult.ANDREW M. GREELEY & MARY G. DURKIN,

in The Book of Love (2002)

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.ROBERT A. HEINLEIN

This line became an instant classic almost immediately after appearing as an entry in “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long” in Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love (1973) . It also inspired some well-known spin-offs:

You can never underestimate the stupidity of the general public. SCOTT ADAMS, creator of Dilbert

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups. JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH

Never underestimate the hypocrisy of politicians.JAMES HERBERT

Never underestimate the power of the office grapevine.RUTH HOUSTON, in Is He Cheating on You? (2002)

Never underestimate a genius with a chip on his shoulder.NICOLE KIDMAN, to Alec Baldwin, in the 1993 film Malice

Never underestimate the power of words.MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., in a 1954 sermon

titled “Propagandizing Christianity”

In his first month as pastor of Montgomery, Alabama’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Reverend King gave his new congregation a taste of things to come. Challenging the negative connotation of the term “propaganda,” he argued that “Propaganda may be good or bad depending on the merit of the case urged.” He urged Christians to become “propaganda agents,” saying, “If Hitler could do all of this with an evil idea, it seems that we could rock the world with the truth of the saving power of the gospel.”

Never underestimate the magnitude of the forces

that reinforce complacency and help maintain the status quo.JOHN P. KOTTER, in Leading Change (1996)

Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor, described this as “A good rule of thumb in a major change effort.” In his 2002 sequel The Heart of Change (written with Dan S. Cohen), Kotter offered these three additional rules of thumb that might be derived from the study of human history and the observation of people in organizations:

Never underestimate the power of a good story.

Never underestimate the power of the mind to disempower.

Never underestimate the power of clever people

to help others see the possibilities,

to help them generate a feeling of faith, and to change behavior.

Never underestimate an enemy!LOUIS L’AMOUR, in Last of the Breed (1986)

Never underestimate the power of appealing to a person’s ego.

Sometimes you want to inflate it, and other times you want to attack it.DAVID J. LIEBERMAN, in Never Be Lied to Again (1999)

Never underestimate the impact of the law of unexpected consequences.HARVEY B. MACKAY, in Pushing the Envelope

All the Way to the Top (1998)

Never underestimate the power of

a simple thank-you note . . . or a note of congratulations.HARVEY B. MACKAY, in Dig Your Well

Before You’re Thirsty (1997)

In Management Mess-Ups (2008), Mark Eppler echoed the theme: “Never underestimate the power of a handwritten note of concern or appreciation.”

Never underestimate the power of a single individual to affect the world.

Remember, one candle in a cave lights everything.ABRAHAM H. MASLOW, from an unpublished essay,

found in Maslow’s papers after his death

1. Never underestimate the importance of money.