Idioms

all things to all people

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all things to all people

Liked or appreciated by everyone, usually through overt efforts to please them. I know you want your students to like you, but you have to discipline them when they misbehave. You can't be all things to all people. I don't trust that candidate—he is trying to be all things to all people and still hasn't committed to a clear course of action. The sooner you learn that you can't be all things to all people, the better. Then, you are free to live the life you want, without worrying about what other people think.

See also: all, people, thing, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive

But as numbers were added and as the church became "institutionalized," it more and more left behind the former controversial militant note so that most major denominations are now in reality all things to all people.

The Creative Role of Controversy within the Church

I believe managers can make almost any style of management work if they are truly interested in, and concerned with, the welfare of all the people they deal with, While you can never be all things to all people, I submit that no business will remain profitable for very long if it ignores the needs and well-being of shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, or anyone else crucial to the continuance of operations.

Managing style ... or substance?

All schools can never be all things to all people, just as individual businesses aren't all things to all people.

B-schools under fire

We won't be all things to all people. We won't dictate to the rest of the world.

Five steps to reclaiming America's economic leadership

"No one city, including Sudbury, has the critical mass to be all things to all people. We feed off each other."

Belgium homebuilder to establish manufacturing base in North Bay

Essentially, the authors argue that for a company to be successful, it can't be all things to all people. There are three basic value propositions: price, technology, and customer service.

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