One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.

Arnold H. Glasow was best known as a mid‑20th‑century American business writer and compiler of aphorisms used widely in management training, newsletters, and motivational collections. This remark circulates chiefly in leadership and organizational contexts—often quoted in talks and handbooks about supervision, risk management, and decision-making—where it functions as a practical maxim rather than a line from a single famous speech. I cannot, however, confidently tie it to a specific dated occasion, publication venue, or first appearance in Glasow’s own books without a verifiable primary citation.

The quote defines leadership less as crisis performance and more as anticipatory judgment. A leader’s “test” is the capacity to notice early warning signs—small failures, emerging conflicts, weak signals in data—while there is still time to respond calmly and cheaply. By contrasting “problem” with “emergency,” Glasow highlights how neglect, denial, or short-term thinking can convert manageable issues into urgent, high-cost situations. The saying also implies a moral dimension: leaders owe their teams and stakeholders the diligence to prevent avoidable harm, not merely the charisma to react once damage is underway.