--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are not \"things\" to be…" description: "\"People are not \"things\" to be manipulated, labeled, boxed, bought, and sold. Above all else, they are not \"human resources.\" They are entire human bein..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/dee-hock-11001_beings_people-are-not-things-to-be-manipulated_2637648.jpg" --- # People are not "things" to be manipulated, labeled, boxed… ![“People are not "things" to be manipulated, labeled, boxed, bought, and sold. Above all else, they are not "human resources." They are entire human beings, containing the whole of the evolving universe, limitless until we start limiting them. We must examine the concept of leading and following…” quote by Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/dee-hock-11001_beings_people-are-not-things-to-be-manipulated_2637648.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/dee-hock-11001_beings_people-are-not-things-to-be-manipulated_2637648.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/dee-hock-11001_beings_people-are-not-things-to-be-manipulated_2637648.jpg) > “People are not "things" to be manipulated, labeled, boxed, bought, and sold. Above all else, they are not "human resources." They are entire human beings, containing the whole of the evolving universe, limitless until we start limiting them. We must examine the concept of leading and following with new eyes. We must examine the concept of superior and subordinate with increasing skepticism. We must examine the concept of management and labor with new beliefs. And we must examine the nature of organizations that demand such distinctions with an entirely different consciousness.” [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are whole beings, not resources; we must rethink leadership, hierarchy, and management with fresh, humane perspectives. **In simple terms:** Treat people as individuals, not assets. Key Takeaway Adopt humane organizational models. Themes leadership human dignity organization Mood inspirational critical Type philosophical visionary When to use this quote - team building - policy reform - company culture Key Concepts systems thinking ethical management Questions to Reflect On - What would a humane organization look like? - How can leaders shift mindsets? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑rooted structures is hard. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Concept Leading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept-leading-2241706/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Containing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/containing/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Evolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolve/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Human resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-resources/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Limitless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitless/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [New eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-eyes/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Organizations Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizations-demand-2010619/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-things/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) [Subordinates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subordinates/) [Superiors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiors/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Great organizations demand a high level of commitment by the people involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/great-organizations-demand-a-high-level-of-commitment-by-the-people-2/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Great organizations demand a high level of commitment by the people involved. Eliminate politics, by giving everybody the same message. Keep a flat organization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/great-organizations-demand-a-high-level-of-commitment-by-the-people/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“Mystery is not about traveling to new places but about looking with new eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/mystery-is-not-about-traveling-to-new-places-but-about-looking-with/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [For some slaves, the first step out of bondage is to learn to see their lives with new eyes. Their reality is a social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bales/for-some-slaves-the-first-step-out-of-bondage-is-to-learn-to-see/) [Kevin Bales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bales/) > [The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-real-voyage-of-discovery-consists-not-in-seeking-new-landscapes/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Young children remind us how to see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/young-children-remind-us-how-to-see/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [Mystery is not always about travelling to new places, it is about looking with new eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/mystery-is-not-always-about-travelling-to-new-places-it-is-about/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [My eyes make pictures when they are shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/my-eyes-make-pictures-when-they-are-shut/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-voyage-of-discovery-is-not-in-seeking-new-landscapes-but-in/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Le veritable voyage de decouverte ne consiste pas a chercher de nouveaux paysages, mais a avoir de nouveaux yeux. (The real voyage of discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/le-veritable-voyage-de-decouverte-ne-consiste-pas-a-chercher-de/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes. The only adventure that is doomed from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-emile-victor/the-real-act-of-discovery-consists-not-in-finding-new-lands-but-in/) [Paul-Emile Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-emile-victor/) > [The best advice I can give on this is, once it's done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-advice-i-can-give-on-this-is-once-it-s-done-to-put-it-away/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Bring new eyes to a world even new lenses and presto, new world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/bring-new-eyes-to-a-world-even-new-lenses-and-presto-new-world/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“We aren’t a curse upon the world. We are her new eyes. Her brain, testes, ovaries . . . her ambition and her heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/we-aren-t-a-curse-upon-the-world-we-are-her-new-eyes-her-brain-testes/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-remains-an-experience-of-incomparable-value-to-see-the-great/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## More by Dee Hock > [If you're in such a position of power and your ego is such that this is not possible, then its essential to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/if-you-re-in-such-a-position-of-power-and-your-ego-is-such-that-this/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [You learn nothing form your successes except to think too much of yourself. It is from failure that all growth comes, provided you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/you-learn-nothing-form-your-successes-except-to-think-too-much-of/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [To put it another way, I believe that purpose and principle, clearly understood and articulated, and commonly shared, are the genetic code of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/to-put-it-another-way-i-believe-that-purpose-and-principle-clearly/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Every mind is a room packed with archaic furniture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/every-mind-is-a-room-packed-with-archaic-furniture/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [It won't do away with hierarchy totally, but the principal leader will be the person who most exemplifies the kind of organization and behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/it-won-t-do-away-with-hierarchy-totally-but-the-principal-leader-will/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple stupid behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/simple-clear-purpose-and-principles-give-rise-to-complex-intelligent/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Lead yourself, lead your superiors, lead your peers, and free your people to do the same. All else is trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/lead-yourself-lead-your-superiors-lead-your-peers-and-free-your/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [The closest thing to a law of nature in business is that form has an affinity for expense, while substance has an affinity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/the-closest-thing-to-a-law-of-nature-in-business-is-that-form-has-an/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [It is not making better people of others that management is about. It's about making a better person of self. Income, power, and titles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/it-is-not-making-better-people-of-others-that-management-is-about-it/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people. It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/money-motivates-neither-the-best-people-nor-the-best-in-people-it-can/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [We don't have to remain in this radically destructive mind-set and institutional-set. We can change, and the natural order of things could emerge in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/we-don-t-have-to-remain-in-this-radically-destructive-mind-set-and/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [The essence of community, its heart and soul, is the non-monetary exchange of value; things we do and share because we care for others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/the-essence-of-community-its-heart-and-soul-is-the-non-monetary/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Life will never surrender its secrets to a yardstick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/life-will-never-surrender-its-secrets-to-a-yardstick/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Success follows those adept at preserving the substance of the past by clothing it in the forms of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/success-follows-those-adept-at-preserving-the-substance-of-the-past/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [Substance is enduring, form is ephemeral. Failure to distinguish clearly between the two is ruinous. Success follows those adept at preserving the substance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/substance-is-enduring-form-is-ephemeral-failure-to-distinguish/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) [Explore all 62 Dee Hock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) ## More Beings quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I'm a humanist at heart: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chet-faker/i-m-a-humanist-at-heart-at-the-end-of-the-day-we-are-all-human-beings/) [Chet Faker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chet-faker/) > [My intended audience was everybody. I just want to make cartoons for human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kricfalusi/my-intended-audience-was-everybody-i-just-want-to-make-cartoons-for/) [John Kricfalusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kricfalusi/) > [Everyone else on the planet, from the lowest amoebae to the great blue whale, expresses all their component elements in a perfect dance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/everyone-else-on-the-planet-from-the-lowest-amoebae-to-the-great-blue/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [We cannot deal with people like human beings, we cannot deal with them on the high level of true humanity, unless we really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-cannot-deal-with-people-like-human-beings-we-cannot-deal-with-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spiritual beings, either from the beginning or soon thereafter, become what they are to be for ever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/spiritual-beings-either-from-the-beginning-or-soon-thereafter-become/) [Giovanni Pico della Mirandola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola/) > [We're human beings trying to love each other. There are constant revelations and room for growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamman-rucker/we-re-human-beings-trying-to-love-each-other-there-are-constant/) [Lamman Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamman-rucker/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for he sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/although-we-might-settle-for-less-heavenly-father-won-t-for-he-sees/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) [Browse all 979 Beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People are not \"things\" to be manipulated, labeled, boxed, bought, and sold. Above all else, they are not \"human resources.\" They are entire human beings, containing the whole of the evolving universe, limitless until we start limiting them. We must examine the concept of leading and following with new eyes. We must examine the concept of superior and subordinate with increasing skepticism. We must examine the concept of management and labor with new beliefs. 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