Talley’s Laws
Years ago I placed a list of
Talley’s Laws on my office wall. When I
retired a couple of people asked for copies of Talley’s Laws. When I returned on year I noticed that these
laws were placed on yet another office wall.
Some are tongue-in-cheek. Some
are thoughtful. Some are
meaningful.
I’ve added a few new laws since
and I’ll share those later.
1. Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2. Some decisions are best left unmade.
3. Some decisions left unmade will fall to the level where they
belong and may be made.
4. Some decisions just don’t matter.
5. Some problems solve themselves.
6. A lack of planning
on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part; however,….
7. Committees are
created to evenly distribute blame and assure that no one has ultimate
responsibility.
8. Midnight tonight
comes at the same time whether I walk fast or whether I walk slowly.
9. The sun comes up
whether I am awake or not.
10. The way to eat an
elephant is one bite at a time. But, who
wants to eat an elephant anyway?
11. The longest
journey begins before the first step.
12. Sometimes the
dragon wins.
13. Never lose
weight. Put it someplace where you can
find it later on when you need it.
14. There are two
lies: never and always.
15. People really
don’t admire you when you admit you were wrong.
16. Some people
are born mean, ugly, and spiteful.
Others learn it from those who were born that way.
17. Honesty is
rewarded in Heaven and taken advantage of in life.
18. Good managers
are neither made nor born.
19. It may be
better to give than to receive, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad to receive.
20. Some people
just need to grow up and get a life.
Others shouldn’t.
21. If you take
the time to stop and smell the roses you may miss a beautiful sunset.
22. There are
just as many sunsets as there are sunrises.
23. Everything is
relative, just not material.
24. There are two
kinds of people in the world: those who care and those who don’t.
25. Some hurts
you don’t get over.
26. The mind is a
marvelous wonder. If left alone it will
heal itself or drive you crazy.
27. There is
disgrace in failure.
28. Yes, “they”
can take your birthday away from you.
29. It is better
to have loved and won than to have loved and lost.
30. It is better
to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost.
PREFACE: The original
Talley’s Laws consisted of 33 points.
After I retired from my law enforcement career and began teaching
criminal justice it became apparent to me that some of my students were much
too casual in their studies while others thought that policing would be nothing
but fun and games. In frustration one
day, I blurted out what has since become #34.
My intent, of course, was to get them to learn in the classroom and not
by accident on the job. It seems the
instant I said it that it became my by-line at the College.
31. It is O.K. to
get mad. Get even so only you and the
person who made you mad know that the score is even.
32. Some people
deserve to be publicly humiliated. It
just generally doesn’t happen.
33. True power
rests with the person who changes the batteries in the TV remote.
34. In police
work, anything less than 100% will get you fired, sued, or killed.
The New Talley’s Laws
I developed the New Talley’s Laws over a period of the last
18 years. They are a little more serious
than the previous Talley’s Laws.
I hope you enjoyed, chuckled, agreed, disagreed, or pondered
over the previous set. While I’m sure
that you questioned some of them (O.K., maybe all of them), each has meaning to
me. Perhaps one or two will have meaning
for you.
- Pick and choose your
battles. Not all battles are worth
fighting. You don’t have to win all
battles to win the war.
- Pick and choose your words
carefully. Consider what road your
words will travel and where they will go.
Not only may they hurt others, but they may come back to haunt you.
- First listen. Listen first.
- Kindness and humility are
not signs of weakness.
- Win or lose, if you endure
to the end, though you may be exhausted, you will have gained strength.
- A good deal of our “doing”
doesn’t live up to our “knowing” and “believing”. I’m not sure that it makes us
hypocrites.
- Not every helping hand is
helpful.
- Nobody wants to hear how
you did it with some other organization.
Instead, ask questions that will lead others (and yourself) to discovery
and innovation.
- Before giving advice, ask
yourself these questions:
- Is it any of your
business?
- Do you hold a position of
responsibility and authority over the person you want to advise?
- Do you follow your own
advice?
- Is the advice you want to
give intended to make you feel better or the person you are advising feel
better?
- Did the person ask for
advice?
- People who like everything
you do or say are either insincere or blinded by (fill in the blank).
- Pick your friends as
carefully as you pick your nose.
