5 "Genius" Quotes to Inspire Better Facilities Maintenance

There seem to be an endless amount of "inspirational quotes" out there in the form of social media, posters, coasters, calendars, and even on your favorite pen. But not many seem to be tailored to the life and times of facilities managers. So, we wanted to change that.   

We've found five share-worthy quotes that can inspire better facilities and asset maintenance. The first two are from writer Jeff Haden, while the last three come from some of the great thinkers in modern history, ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Margaret Thatcher. They may not have known they were talking about facilities maintenance, but, in retrospect, it all makes sense. 

1. "Only a genius can do things his own way. You? You're no genius."

Now, this first gem was uttered by Haden's one-time construction foreman. His point was simple: unless you are exceptionally gifted or have decades of experience, it rarely makes sense to start from scratch. Facilities management is built on institutional knowledge. Ignoring that knowledge forces teams to relearn lessons the hard way, often at the cost of downtime, unplanned expenses, or safety risks. Learning from the experience of others allows you to move faster while making fewer mistakes.

That mindset shows up in practical ways every day. When a new piece of equipment behaves differently than you expected, you can look to people who have worked on it before. Review the asset history, service notes, and documentation captured in your CMMS or EAM system. Those records exist for a reason, and they tell the story of how the asset has performed over time and what it has already taught your organization.

Progress rarely comes from reinventing the wheel. It comes from paying attention to what has already been learned and applying it with intention. See how organizations like Foundation Health Partners are using their historic data to educate stakeholders on facility needs and increase their deferred maintenance budget by $3.5 million. 

2. "Do or do not. There is no try."

You may recognize this quote from a galaxy far, far away. Here, we have the immortal words of Yoda, but the idea was reiterated by one of Jeff Haden's past facilities managers, whose implication was that "if you decide you are going to do something, then all that should matter is the time and energy you put into that task." Simply saying you're going to "try" often signals hesitation before the work has even begun.  

In facilities management, that hesitation often shows up quickly. Teams say they want to improve efficiency, lower energy costs, etc. But without a clear commitment, those goals stay abstract and even small setbacks become reasons to stop. Real improvement starts when organizations make a decision and back it with action. That means defining clear goals, putting the right systems in place, and holding themselves accountable over time. 

We have seen clients reduce annual utility costs by up to 15 percent simply by committing to a plan, implementing the right tools, and staying consistent even when results were not immediate. The difference is not effort alone. It is intent. When teams stop “trying” and start committing, efficiency stops being a moving target and becomes an outcome they can measure, manage, and repeat.

3. "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

This quote from Forbes is attributed to Alan Kay, a computer scientist who understood something that applies just as much to facilities management as it does to technology. The future does not simply happen to organizations. It is shaped by the systems they build, the data they collect, and the decisions they make long before problems surface.

In facilities maintenance, “inventing the future” doesn't mean guessing what might go wrong. It means creating conditions where fewer surprises can pop-up unexpectedly. When maintenance teams rely only on reactive work orders and fragmented records, the future can feel unpredictable. But when asset data is captured and consistently reviewed over time, patterns start to emerge, failures become easier to anticipate, and costs become easier to control. 

In other words, when organizations use asset data to guide their maintenance strategies and capital planning, they aren't just simply waiting for the future to arrive. They are actively shaping it. And that is how planning moves from hopeful estimates to defensible forecasts, and how facilities teams earn trust as strategic partners within an organization, rather than cost centers. Read how Oneida County is using asset and facilities management software to create a more predictable and connected future for their public works organization. 

4. "If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the axe."

This one is from good old 'Honest Abe' himself. Abraham Lincoln’s quote here is often used to highlight the value of preparation, but it also speaks to restraint. The instinct to act quickly can be strong in facilities management, especially when backlogs are growing and your resources feel strained. But speed without preparation often leads to rework, overlooked details, and inefficiencies that grow over time.

In maintenance, the “axe” is not brute force. It's clear, accessible, and reliable data. CMMS and EAM tools sharpen that axe by bringing structure to daily work. They centralize asset information, standardize preventive maintenance schedules, and ensure that technicians are working with accurate, up-to-date information instead of assumptions or memory. Without clear data, teams may apply the same level of attention to every asset, even when some require more care than others. 

A well-maintained CMMS allows leaders to see which assets drive the most downtime, which PM tasks actually reduce failures, and where resources can be adjusted to improve outcomes. You do not need the most complex system to be effective. You need one that is dependable, widely adopted, and aligned with how your team actually works. When preparation becomes part of your routine, execution becomes faster, smoother, and far less frustrating.

5. "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it."

Margaret Thatcher’s quote here captures something many facilities professionals recognize immediately. Satisfaction does not come from avoiding work. It comes from making progress, solving problems, and knowing that the effort you put in mattered.

That feeling is harder to achieve when teams spend their days reacting to emergencies, searching for information, or redoing work that could have been prevented. When work orders are clear, asset histories are accessible, and priorities are based on evidence rather than urgency, teams can spend more of their time doing the meaningful work and less time fighting friction.

Asset maintenance strategies that account for the full lifecycle of equipment support this kind of daily workflow. They help teams stay ahead of failures, justify decisions with confidence, and plan improvements instead of constantly catching up. Over time, that discipline creates a sense of control and momentum that is deeply satisfying. When effort is aligned with outcomes and supported by good data, long days feel productive rather than exhausting. And that is when teams can look back and say they did what needed to be done, and they did it well.

Conclusion

Taken together, these quotes all point to the same truth. Strong facilities and asset maintenance programs are built on discipline, preparation, and the willingness to learn from what has already happened. Whether it means relying on institutional knowledge instead of starting from scratch, committing fully to improvement instead of half-measures, using data to shape what comes next, or slowing down just enough to prepare properly, the most effective teams share a common mindset. They treat maintenance as a system, not just a series of isolated tasks.

That is exactly what our new e-book "What If… A Guide on How to Ensure Your Asset Maintenance Strategy is Effective at Every Lifecycle Stage" asset maintenance guide is designed to reinforce. It helps you ask the right questions that surface long before something breaks. Like what if asset history is incomplete when you need to justify a decision? What if preventive maintenance is no longer preventing failures? What if aging equipment becomes a budget emergency instead of a planned replacement?

By looking at maintenance through the full lifecycle of an asset, the guide demonstrates how today’s tracking decisions directly shape tomorrow’s outcomes. Click here to read the full e-book.