50 Incompetence Quotes That You Can Relate To

Don’t let your frustration with an incompetent person or organization drive you crazy; instead, enjoy these incompetence quotes!

We have all been frustrated with people or organizations that show a lack of competence at one time or another.

But sometimes, after being frustrated, you have to laugh at the complete incompetence of the situation.

Here are some examples of incompetence:

• Treating the customer as a nuisance – We all know that some people and some places lack the “service” in customer service.
• Frustrating return or refund situation – have you ever tried to return a broken item you needed only to have an incompetent worker waste another hour of your day?
• Making a bad situation worse – If you have ever had a loved one or yourself sick or injured and dealt with rude, unhelpful people, then you understand incompetence.
• Trying to get your home or car repaired only to have the person screw up and make the repair a bigger issue.
• Government officials making decisions on things they have no experience with.

Read these incompetence quotes and see if you can relate to any of them.

Top Incompetence Quotes

There are many different thoughts on incompetence, as shown in the quotes below.

1. “Evil is a form of incompetence.” — Alan Bullock

2. “Incompetence is the true crisis.” — Albert Einstein

3. “Man cannot live by incompetence alone.” — Charlotte Whitton

4. “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” — Isaac Asimov

5. “When incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.” — Masha Gessen

6. “Incompetence annoys me. Overconfidence terrifies me.” — Malcolm Gladwell

7. “Incompetence is often highly regarded in governmental circles.” — William Wallace

8. “When success and incompetence meet, disaster is not far away.” — Robert Kiyosaki

9. “Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy.” — Niccolo Machiavelli

10. “The problem with incompetence is its inability to recognize itself.” — Orrin Woodward

You will also enjoy our article on bothered quotes.

Incompetence Quotes & Opinions

Incompetence quotes are a stark reminder that mediocrity and ineptitude can hinder progress and undermine success.

11. “Adventure is a sign of incompetence.” — Vihjalmur Stefansson

12. “Man cannot live by incompetence alone.” — Charlotte Whitton

13. “Incompetence is a double-edged banana.” — John Perry Barlow

14. “Incompetence knows no barrier of time or place.” — Laurence J. Peter

15. “Everyone rises to the level of their incompetence.” — Laurence J. Peter

16. “Do not trust the frustrated. They are usually incompetent.” — Gustave Flaubert

17. “Careliness with details sinks more careers than anyone will admit.” — Lois Wyse

18. “The fear of appearances is the first symptom of impotence.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

19. “Let’s have a toast. To the incompetence of our enemies.” — Holly Black

20. “It happens; incompetence is rewarded more often than not.” — Jeff Lindsay

Incompetence Quotes About People

People often resonate with incompetence quotes as they humorously capture the frustrations of dealing with incompetence in various aspects of life.

21. “Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence.” — James Cash Penney

22. “I don’t care that they stole my idea… I care that they don’t have any of their own.” — Nikola Tesla

23. “Stupidity and human incompetence are the great evils, not ambition and glory.” — Robert Greene

24. “I have little tolerance for incompetence, sloppy thinking, and laziness.” — Michael E. DeBakey

25. “Standards in public life have decayed over time… Incompetence is the norm.” — Jed Mercurio

26. “Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity.” — Peter Bergen

27. “Laziness has become the chief characteristic of journalism, displacing incompetence.” — Kingsley Amis

28. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but my incompetence has never stopped my enthusiasm.” — Woody Allen

29. “Secrecy breeds incompetence because where there is failure, failure is kept secret.” — Julian Assange

30. “One of the chief features of incompetence was an inability to see it in oneself.” — Kim Stanley Robinson

Incompetence Quotes with Unique Perspectives

Incompetence quotes with unique perspectives provide fresh insights into the ramifications of ineptitude, sparking introspection and critical thinking.

31. “Sometimes incompetence is useful. It helps you keep an open mind.” — Roberto Cavalli

32. “Rebellion has its roots in government’s indifference and incompetence.” — Mike Barnicle

33. “The best advice I’ve ever received is, ‘No one else knows what they’re doing either.’” — Ricky Gervais

34. “If at first you don’t succeed, you may be at your level of incompetence already.” — Laurence J. Peter

35. “Equal opportunity means everyone will have a fair chance at being incompetent.” — Laurence J. Peter

36. “We sometimes do something fast to compensate for our inability or unwillingness to do it well.” — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

37. “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties.” — Laurence J. Peter

38. “Those who apply themselves too much to little things often become incapable of great ones.” — La Rochefoucauld

39. “There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance, and incompetence.” — Bob Herbert

40. “I am, as I’ve said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.” — Billy Joel

More Incompetence Quotes

Here are a few more quotes on incompetence and the impact it has on us.

41. “The most dangerous irony is people are angry with others because of their own incompetence.” — Amit Kalantri

42. “Inconsistency, incompetence, and lies are all cut short by the ground. It will stop you if you can’t stop yourself.” — Mark Twight

43. “Government failure is always used as an excuse for government expansion. Government thrives on crisis and incompetence.” — Jim Babka

44. “Incompetence is certainty in the absence of expertise. Overconfidence is certainty in the presence of expertise.” — Malcolm Gladwell

45. “Someone who says ‘I am busy’ is either declaring incompetence (and lack of control of his life) or trying to get rid of you.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb

46. “I believe in discipline. You can forgive incompetence. You can forgive lack of ability. But one thing you cannot ever forgive is lack of discipline.” — Forrest Gregg

47. “He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which.” — Douglas Adams

48. “I’ve always lived by this philosophy, when it comes to conspiracies, never to attribute to deviousness that which can be explained by incompetence.” — Dean Devlin

49. “Just as your hand has the power to hide the sun, mediocrity has the power to hide your inner light. Do not blame others for your own incompetence.” — Paulo Coelho

50. “By reading, you learn through others’ experiences, generally, a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.” — Jim Mattis

What is Incompetence?

According to dictionary.cambridge.org, incompetence is the “lack of the ability, skill, or knowledge that is needed to do a job or perform an action correctly or to a satisfactory standard.”

Get more quotes about incompetence with these Bureaucracy Quotes.

Please share these incompetence quotes with your friends and family and post any comments about incompetence in the comment section below.