evidence: The first expression is usually attributed to the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw, but the citations I have seen are unconvincing. I do not wish to reference a business book published in 2000 to support an ascription to Shaw. Would you please examine this topic? Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that George Bernard Shaw who died in 1950 made this statement. The saying has been linked to Shaw only in very recent decades. [...] In conclusion, QI believes that William H. Whyte should be credited with the expression he used in the September 1950 citation. Pierre Martineau helped to popularize the adage, but he did not craft it. QI conjectures that the different versions in circulation evolved from Whyte’s statement. The linkage of the statement to George Bernard Shaw appears to be spurious.