Success Quote by Lee Iacocca

Iacocca is selling impatience as a virtue, and he does it with the calm assurance of someone who’s been rewarded for betting early. The line isn’t really about “facts” so much as power: in corporate life, the person who moves first often gets to define what the facts mean after the decision is already in motion. Seventy-five percent is a deliberately manager-friendly number, precise enough to sound disciplined, forgiving enough to authorize action. It flatters the executive’s favorite self-image: not reckless, just decisive.

The second sentence sharpens into workplace anthropology. “The guys who wait” aren’t merely cautious; they’re emotionally burdensome. They “drive you crazy” because their perfectionism blocks momentum and, more pointedly, threatens the hierarchy. Asking for “everything perfect” can read as skepticism, a demand for accountability, or a refusal to play the game where speed is mistaken for competence. Iacocca frames that resistance as neurosis.

Context matters. Iacocca’s legend was forged in an era of American industrial brinkmanship: high-stakes product cycles, union negotiations, oil shocks, a Chrysler rescue that required both public persuasion and private triage. In that world, delay could be fatal, and incomplete information was the default setting. The quote functions as a creed for executives navigating ambiguity, but it also contains a quiet warning: cultures that worship 100% certainty can become risk-avoidant to the point of paralysis.

Still, the charm is slightly predatory. “Usually never regret it” is a survivor’s statistic, spoken by someone whose misses didn’t permanently exile him. It’s leadership advice, yes, but also a permission slip for making other people live with your 25% unknowns.