Motto Origin: Good, Fast, Cheap — Pick Any Two
James M. Wallace? Erwin Frand? Gary Davis? Burt Reynolds? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Buyers always want products to be constructed with the highest quality, manufactured at the fastest speed, and priced at the lowest cost. Frustrated sellers assert that only two of those objectives can be achieved at the same time. The buyer must select only two out of three. This notion has been expressed compactly in the following ways:
(1) Quality. Speed. Price. Choose any two.
(2) Good, Fast, Cheap. Pick any two.
Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?
Reply from Quote Investigator: This saying is difficult to trace because it can be expressed in many ways. The earliest match known to QI appeared in the 1980 book “The Official Explanations” compiled by Paul Dickson. Credit was given to James M. Wallace of Minneapolis who stated that the adage applied particularly to advertising and print shops. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹
Wallace’s Two-out-of-Three Theory.
SPEED
QUALITY
PRICE
Pick any Two.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In modern times the simultaneous pursuit of quality, speed, and cost may seem quixotic, but in the past it seemed feasible. However, buyers and sellers had different priorities. The 1921 book “Concrete: Its Manufacture and Use” contained the following passage:²
The owner for whom the work is being done, be he an individual, a corporation, or a government agency, is interested in quality, speed and cost. The contractor and the construction superintendent are interested in cost, speed and quality. The sequence of these items is in accordance with their relative importance to the two parties to the contract.
In 1977 a newspaper article published in Northampton, Massachusetts described restaurateurs who were planning to achieve all three elusive goals:³
Modeled after the fast food taco restaurants that are common on the West Coast, Taco Villa, according to co-owner Maurice LaFlamme of Florence, aims to provide an alternative type of restaurant in the area, with food that is “fast, good, and cheap.”
The 1980 book “The Official Explanations” contained an entry for the saying as mentioned previously.
In December 1980 the journal “Industrial Research & Development” published a column by Erwin Frand who wrote about visiting the office of a friend who ran a graphics design house:⁴
One thing which caught my eye was a sign my friend had hanging on the wall behind his desk. It read: “Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick Any Two.”
From my friend’s point of view, the poster relates to graphic design. However, the principles can be expanded to the creation of most new things, including the development of new businesses and products.
In May 1981 “The Orlando Sentinel Star” of Florida published an advertisement from a print shop that contained the adage:⁵
If you want printing
· GOOD
· FAST
· CHEAP
PICK TWO, THEN CALL CELERY CITY PRINTING CO., INC.
Researcher Barry Popik has also written a helpful article on this topic. His discussion included citations beginning in 1982 such as the book “Slinging Ink: A Practical Guide To Producing Booklets, Newspapers, and Ephemeral Publications” which included the following passage:⁶
“You want it good, fast, cheap? Then pick two, mister, and call me tomorrow.” This is what one printer advised a pushy customer.
In April 1982 movie star Burt Reynolds delivered a thematically related remark about his film career:⁷
As he once said about his cinematic carburetor collaborations with director Hal Needham, “We make ’em cheap and fast. Not good, just cheap and fast.”
In 1983 Professor of Management William A. Ruch of Arizona State University participated in a White House Conference On Productivity, and he employed the saying:⁸
I loved the comment that one person put in, which was simply in the form of a sign, which said, good, fast, cheap, pick any two.
I think that we have been operating on that kind of a philosophy, and I think that what we find out is that we are a little more clever, we can have all three, that is, we can meet cost and schedule and quality.
In 1984 the book “Thinking FORTH: A Language and Philosophy for Solving Problems” included the following quotation from computer programmer Michael Starling of Union Carbide:⁹
The iterative approach places highest value on producing a good solution to the real problem. It may not always give you the most predictable software costs. The route to a solution may depend upon your priorities. Remember:
Good
Fast
Cheap
Pick any two!
In 1987 the “Los Angeles Times” printed a quotation from Gary Davis who was the artistic director of the new California Music Theatre:¹⁰
“There are three ways you can do this,” he said, “fast, good or cheap. You can always have two, but never all three. If you rush it, it’s going to be fast and cheap, but not good. If you take your time, it can be good and cheap.” They have obviously chosen to pursue the latter path, opting for frugality — and active networking.
In 1988 “Europe Through the Back Door” by Rick Steves included a variant expression about travel baggage:¹¹
The importance of packing light cannot be overemphasized — but for your own good, I’ll try. You’ll never meet a traveler who after several trips brags, “Every year I pack heavier.” The measure of a good traveler is how light he travels. You can’t travel heavy, happy and cheap. (Pick two.)
In 1992 a columnist in the “Arizona Daily Sun” of Flagstaff, Arizona published a version of the saying:¹²
I was once in a print shop where a sign was displayed behind the customer counter that read: “Price. Quality. Speed. Choose any two.” Pretty profound statement when you think about it.
In conclusion, the saying “SPEED QUALITY PRICE: Pick any Two” was attributed to James M. Wallace in the 1980 book “The Official Explanations”. In the same year, the sign “Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick Any Two” appeared on a sign in a graphics design house without attribution. QI conjectures that the saying occurred earlier. The identity of the original creator remains uncertain. Perhaps future researchers will discover superior citations.
Image Notes: Picture of the autonomous subway in Suwon South Korea from Mathew Schwartz at Unsplash.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Andrew Munro whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Thanks also to researcher Barry Popik who explored this topic and found citations beginning in 1982.
[1] 1980, The Official Explanations, Compiled by Paul Dickson, Quote Page 230, Delacorte Press, New York. (Verified on paper)
[2] 1921 Copyright, Concrete: Its Manufacture and Use, Chapter 1: Field Operations in Concrete Construction, Quote Page 9, Published by Koehring Company, Milwaukee Wisconsin. (Google Books Full View) link
[3] 1977 July 25, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Florence men open restaurant, Quote Page 16, Column 1, Northampton, Massachusetts. (Newspapers_com)
[4] 1980 December, Industrial Research & Development, Erwin Frand’s Thoughts On Product Development by Erwin Frand, Subtitle: Pick Two, Any Two, Quote Page 27, Published by Technical Publishing: A Division of Dun-Donnelley Publishing Corp., New York. (Verified with scans)
[5] 1981 May 28, The Orlando Sentinel Star, Section: Seminole Little Sentinel, (Advertisement for Celery City Printing Company of Sanford, Florida), Unnumbered page between pages 7 and 8, Column 2, Orlando, Florida. (Newspapers_com)
[6] 1982, Slinging Ink: A Practical Guide To Producing Booklets, Newspapers, and Ephemeral Publications by Jan Sutter, Chapter XII: At The Printers, Quote Page 145, William Kaufmann, Inc., Los Altos, California. (Verified with scans)
[7] 1982 April 25, The Buffalo News, Burt Reynolds Sends His Own Best Fan to Buffalo by Jeff Simon (News Critic), Quote Page G4, Column 6, Buffalo, New York. (Newspapers_com)
[8] 1983, Transcript of the Preparatory Conference on Private Sector Initiatives: August 2–4, 1983, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, Quote Page 88, White House Conference On Productivity Preparatory Conference On Private Sector Initiatives, Held at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Google Books Full View) link
[9] 1984, Thinking FORTH: A Language and Philosophy for Solving Problems by Leo Brodie, Chapter: Analysis, Quote Page 44, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. (Verified with scans)
[10] 1987 February 21, Los Angeles Times, Section 6: Calendar, A ‘Most Happy’ Musical Revival in Pasadena by Janice Arkatov, Start Page 3, Quote Page 10, Column 3, Los Angeles, California. (Newspapers_com)
[11] 1988, Europe Through the Back Door by Rick Steves, Revised ’89-’88, Eighth Edition, Chapter 1: Planning, Quote Page 30, John Muir Publications, Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Verified with scans)
[12] 1992 March 22, Arizona Daily Sun, The media: Take your pick by Don Rowley (Daily Sun Publisher), Quote Page 7, Column 1, Flagstaff, Arizona. (Newspapers_com)
