--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For many people, the only reason to do…" description: "\"For many people, the only reason to do anything is that it's best for them individually. And I think that's why planners have to be more realistic abou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/donald-shoup-53121_devising_for-many-people-the-only-reason-to-do-an_2354280.jpg" --- # For many people, the only reason to do anything is that… ![“For many people, the only reason to do anything is that it's best for them individually. And I think that's why planners have to be more realistic about devising policies so the stakeholders will say, "I see what you mean - that'll help me." I think expecting people to do the right thing for the…” quote by Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/donald-shoup-53121_devising_for-many-people-the-only-reason-to-do-an_2354280.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/donald-shoup-53121_devising_for-many-people-the-only-reason-to-do-an_2354280.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/donald-shoup-53121_devising_for-many-people-the-only-reason-to-do-an_2354280.jpg) > “For many people, the only reason to do anything is that it's best for them individually. And I think that's why planners have to be more realistic about devising policies so the stakeholders will say, "I see what you mean - that'll help me." I think expecting people to do the right thing for the right reason leads to a lot of failure in public policy.” [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Policies succeed when they align with individuals' self-interest, making personal benefit clear to encourage compliance. **In simple terms:** Policy works when people see personal gain. Key Takeaway Design policies with clear personal benefits. Themes public policy behavioral economics urban planning incentives Mood analytical pragmatic Type policy urban planning When to use this quote - traffic management - zoning - environmental regulation - community programs Key Concepts economics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can policies balance personal benefit and public good? - What incentives motivate civic responsibility? A Different Perspective May ignore collective good for individual gain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-policy/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) [Stakeholder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stakeholder/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [We have to have a conversation where we bring in all the stakeholders and say, 'What is the vision of the Democratic Party?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/we-have-to-have-a-conversation-where-we-bring-in-all-the-stakeholders/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) > [When it comes to public policy, doing the right thing is more important than doing it for the right reason. The best way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/when-it-comes-to-public-policy-doing-the-right-thing-is-more/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) > [Right reason is stronger than force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/right-reason-is-stronger-than-force/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/where-so-many-hours-have-been-spent-in-convincing-myself-that-i-am/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Faith best examplified in action is doing the right thing for the right reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-best-examplified-in-action-is-doing-the-right-thing-for-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Moral choices do not depend on personal preference and private decision but on right reason and, I would add, divine order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-hume/moral-choices-do-not-depend-on-personal-preference-and-private/) [Basil Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-hume/) > [I think you have to remember to do things for the right reason. Do the right thing, so you can be happy with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wyse/i-think-you-have-to-remember-to-do-things-for-the-right-reason-do-the/) [Chris Wyse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wyse/) > [It's amazing what a little money can do when it's spent on the right reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daly/it-s-amazing-what-a-little-money-can-do-when-it-s-spent-on-the-right/) [John Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daly/) > [“The Right Thought plus the Right People in the Right Environment at the Right Time for the Right Reason = the Right Result”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/the-right-thought-plus-the-right-people-in-the-right-environment-at/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I have a really beautiful life right now, so there is no reason to be hostile. I'm a husband, a father and a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/i-have-a-really-beautiful-life-right-now-so-there-is-no-reason-to-be/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [“When so many hours have been spent convincing myself I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/when-so-many-hours-have-been-spent-convincing-myself-i-am-right-is/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obita-denis/sometimes-people-do-the-wrong-things-for-the-right-reason/) [Obita Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obita-denis/) > [I do things - whether it's donations or events for good causes or giving back to my community - for the right reason: because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesean-mccoy/i-do-things-whether-it-s-donations-or-events-for-good-causes-or/) [LeSean McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesean-mccoy/) > [I think we do have to take off the gloves in some areas, but within balance, and at the right time and the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/i-think-we-do-have-to-take-off-the-gloves-in-some-areas-but-within/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [“In the simple moral maxim the Marine Corps teaches — do the right thing, for the right reason — no exception exists that says:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-rushing/in-the-simple-moral-maxim-the-marine-corps-teaches-do-the-right-thing/) Josh Rushing ## More by Donald Shoup > [33% of urban traffic is actively seeking a parking space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/33-of-urban-traffic-is-actively-seeking-a-parking-space/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) > [Parking Reform Made Easy provides both a theoretical framework and practical methods for reforming parking requirements. By giving planners a sound basis for developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/parking-reform-made-easy-provides-both-a-theoretical-framework-and/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) > [The problems with conventional parking meters are myriad. Nevertheless, two advanced technologies, multispace parking meters and curb-space occupancy sensors, can make it much easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/the-problems-with-conventional-parking-meters-are-myriad-nevertheless/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) > [Its unfair to have cities where parking is free for cars and housing is expensive for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/its-unfair-to-have-cities-where-parking-is-free-for-cars-and-housing/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) > [When it comes to public policy, doing the right thing is more important than doing it for the right reason. The best way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/when-it-comes-to-public-policy-doing-the-right-thing-is-more/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) > [Intelligent transportation technology is key to better parking management. The adage that "You can't manage what you can't measure" fits parking perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-shoup/intelligent-transportation-technology-is-key-to-better-parking/) [Donald Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) [Explore all 7 Donald Shoup quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-shoup/) ## More Devising quotes > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [I am often thought of as being remarkably bright, and yet my brains, more often than not, are busily devising new and interesting ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-am-often-thought-of-as-being-remarkably-bright-and-yet-my-brains/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ God does not play dice \[with the universe\]. \[Ger., Gott wurfelt nicht.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/god-does-not-play-dice-with-the-universe-ger-gott-wurfelt-nicht/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Work outside of school hours was a necessity at an early age, and with such time as I had I turned toward interests of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-carlson/work-outside-of-school-hours-was-a-necessity-at-an-early-age-and-with/) Chester Carlson > [There is the happiness which comes from creative effort. The joy of dreaming, creating, building, whether in painting a picture, writing an epic, singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/there-is-the-happiness-which-comes-from-creative-effort-the-joy-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [With support from institutions like the United Nations as well as the donor community, governments can strengthen their national technological and scientific capacities by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-abu-ghazaleh/with-support-from-institutions-like-the-united-nations-as-well-as-the/) [Talal Abu-Ghazaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-abu-ghazaleh/) > [There was one field in which man was unsurpassed; he showed unlimited ingenuity in devising bigger and more efficient ways to kill off, enslave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/there-was-one-field-in-which-man-was-unsurpassed-he-showed-unlimited/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [To those who study her, Nature reveals herself as extraordinarily fertile and ingenious in devising means, but she has no ends which the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/to-those-who-study-her-nature-reveals-herself-as-extraordinarily/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [If the desire to get somewhere is strong enough in a person, his whole being, conscious and unconscious, is always at work, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-philip-grove/if-the-desire-to-get-somewhere-is-strong-enough-in-a-person-his-whole/) Frederick Philip Grove > [Black and Third World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity. Women are expected to educate men. Lesbians and gay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/black-and-third-world-people-are-expected-to-educate-white-people-as/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The scientific method ... is nothing but the exclusion of subjective opinions as far as possible, by the devising of experiments where observation can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-de-beer/the-scientific-method-is-nothing-but-the-exclusion-of-subjective/) Gavin de Beer > [It is however pretty evident, on general principles, that in devising for mathematical truths a new form in which to record and throw themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-lovelace/it-is-however-pretty-evident-on-general-principles-that-in-devising/) [Ada Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-lovelace/) > [Christ taught us truth; the Devil teaches us falsehood, and strives in every way to contradict every truth; devising various calumnies against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/christ-taught-us-truth-the-devil-teaches-us-falsehood-and-strives-in/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Adults devise a plan and follow it, children do what feels good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/adults-devise-a-plan-and-follow-it-children-do-what-feels-good/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) Browse all 49 Devising quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For many people, the only reason to do anything is that it's best for them individually. 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