I hope you get as much from these quotes as I did:
"I would have written a shorter letter but I didn't have time". Blaise Pascal talking about waterfall requirements docs.
"Two things are infinite. The universe and human stupidity. And I'm not so sure about the universe" Albert Einstein talking about the importance of user testing.
"I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking". Albert Einstein again, talking about sticking to test cases too rigidly.
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek". Barack Obama talking about adopting agile practices in your team.
"If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today?" Steve Jobs discussing 5pm Friday releases.
"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible." Audrey Hepburn gives career advice to testers wishing to become CxOs.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mahatma Ghandi advising testers how to deal with the "it works on my machine" defence.
"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the reasons for failure." Bill Gates talking about the importance of monitoring and observability.
"Owing to some peculiarity in my nervous system, I have perception of some things, which no one else has; or at least very few, if any... I can throw rays from every quarter of the universe into one vast focus." Ada Lovelace cautions against saying 'it's just a one-line code change' within earshot of a tester.
"Ask for what you want, and be prepared to get it." Salary negotiation advice from Maya Angelou.
"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." Maya Angleou again, this time reminding us not to neglect MTTR, resiliency and performance testing.
"Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin imploring us to use quality coaching whenever possible.
"I never lose. I either win or learn". Nelson Mandela speaking to the power of exploratory testing.
"I went on a court just with a ball and a racket and some hope." Serena Williams explains that we're more than our dev and test tools.
"Character is how you treat those that can do nothing for you." Nelson Mandela again. Encouraging CxOs to reduce the douchebaggery this layoff season.
"It always impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela explaining that we shouldn't play it safe every sprint.
"I don't have to be what you want me to be." Muhammad Ali asking us to love the technical tester in our midst that hates coding.
"Turn your wound into wisdom". Oprah Winfrey says bug fixes without tests could be bad.
"Some roses grow through concrete. Remember that.". Brandi L. Bates asking us to look for teammates outside the traditional places.
"You can't win anything with kids.". Alan Hansen warns us not to make cast iron predictions about new features without data.
"If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down". Toni Morrison talking about agile adoption.
*Kinda 😇