37signals logo

This is Signal vs. Noise, a weblog by 37signals about design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture, and more. Established 1999 in Chicago. Follow us on Twitter for more information on our products.

Jobs:

See more on our Job Board.

Quoted by Jamie on January 26 2011:

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.

Wayne Gretzky (via advice from his father, Walter Gretzky)
Looking for a job? Got a position to fill? Check out the Job Board.
Got a web design project in mind? Find a web designer on Sortfolio. Browse by visual style, portfolio, budget, and geographic location.
Over 1 million people use 37signals' simple web-based software to collaborate on projects, track contacts, and organize their business with an intranet.

20 comments so far

BradM 26 Jan 11

You Miss 100% of the shots you don’t take —Wayne Gretzky

(You knew that one was coming. TYI , todays his birthday I believe)

JD 26 Jan 11

Brad, yeah that’s another great one. Today is his birthday. 50 I think!

Eric 26 Jan 11

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. – Wayne Gretzky

Yan 26 Jan 11

Classic Gretzky quote.

Allan 26 Jan 11

Not to be nitpicky, but this is actually a paraphrase from Getzky’s father Walter; the original quote is: “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” and was advice to Gretzky as a kid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Gretzky#cite_note-macgregor.pg19-18

Kevin Sweeney 26 Jan 11

Allan is right, I remember that from reading his autobiography when I was 10 :)

JD 26 Jan 11

Allan and Kevin, good deal. I updated the credit.

Helz 26 Jan 11

I almost thought that inspiration for you using this quote came via Kevin Smith and his speech at Sundance this past weekend. Reuters story.

GregT 26 Jan 11

I wasn’t naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did, I worked for.

Justin Jackson 26 Jan 11

How could we apply this quote to the business world? (or the world of design?)

Patrick Huizinga 26 Jan 11

Justin, you’ll make good business if you provide what’s in demand today. You’ll make a great one if you provide what is going to be in demand tomorrow. Once people realize they want it, you’ll be the only one to help them.

The hard part is of course figuring out where the puck is going to be.

BradM 26 Jan 11

@JD “Brad, yeah that’s another great one. “

No pun intended? ;-)

Phil Scott 26 Jan 11

Dad, see where all the lines cross, that’s where the puck is most of the time

Steven Noble 26 Jan 11

Interesting. A good Australian rules football player kicks the ball to where his team-mates can get to by the time it lands, but the opposition can’t.

Hamid 27 Jan 11

It’s a nice metaphor of being leader not follower, predict where the ball is going to be and be there in the right time.

Sarat 27 Jan 11

There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will.

Sarat 27 Jan 11

There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will.

Sarat 27 Jan 11

This quote became famous when Steve Jobs was mentioned

There’s an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ And we’ve always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will. —Steve Jobs

GeeIWonder 27 Jan 11

I don’t think it’s nitpicking Allan, and I think the quote is still misleading from that enshrined in hockey lore, as it’s either Walter’s quote (as instruction) or Wayne recalling that quote.

The adaptation of the quote also runs the risk of being even more distorted and misleading in a way that is altogether against Wayne’s character (as in Sarat’s/Jobs version above).

CSBeer 27 Jan 11

Or, you might prefer the similar Miles Davis quote: Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

Comments are closed