It is better to ask forgiveness than permission
— US Admiral Grace Hopper

One of the things that I have seen during my corporate, small-business, and academic career is folks in leadership embracing Admiral Grace Hopper’s statement addressing forgiveness versus permission for all the wrong reasons. As with most things, context is everything.

Admiral Hopper was a brilliant woman that had lots to say about many topics, but her statement about forgiveness versus permission is one of her most quoted. On the face of it, the statement seems a questionable decision-making philosophy for those pursuing strategic and tactical goals and objectives, and some have embraced this concept in full force.  The end result of practicing this kind of decision making at scale and with regular frequency is efforts that at best look deceptive and rebellious and at worst appears (and may actually be) fraudulent and anti-collaborative.

Such a perspective is also anti-authority as it can shift the decision-making from normal channels to the individual.

Call me naïve, but I don’t think the ends justify the means.