--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In addition to the human suffering that…" description: "\"“In addition to the human suffering that comes with the current way of working, the opportunity cost of the value that we could be creating is staggeri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg" --- # In addition to the human suffering that comes with the… ![“In addition to the human suffering that comes with the current way of working, the opportunity cost of the value that we could be creating is staggering—the authors believe that we are missing out on approximately $2.6 trillion of value creation per year, which is, at the time of this writing…” quote by Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg) > ““In addition to the human suffering that comes with the current way of working, the opportunity cost of the value that we could be creating is staggering—the authors believe that we are missing out on approximately $2.6 trillion of value creation per year, which is, at the time of this writing, equivalent to the annual economic output of France, the sixth-largest economy in the world.”” [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Current work practices cause massive human suffering and huge missed economic value, estimated at $2.6 trillion annually, comparable to France’s GDP. **In simple terms:** We waste huge value due to poor work methods. Key Takeaway Improve work methods to unlock trillions. Themes productivity human suffering economic impact Mood concerned urgent Type analytical call‑to‑action When to use this quote - software development - enterprise transformation - policy making - education reform Key Concepts lean devops value creation Questions to Reflect On - What work habits cost the most value? - How can organizations measure hidden value? A Different Perspective Changing systems is complex and faces resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Human suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-suffering/) [Opportunity cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity-cost/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) ## Related quotes > [“Americans collectively drive approximately 3 trillion miles per year, and more than 30,000 people die in the process. Worldwide, those statistics are enormous; approximately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-j-ross/americans-collectively-drive-approximately-3-trillion-miles-per-year/) [Alec J. Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-j-ross/) > [When President Bush left office, the deficit was approximately $500 billion. It is now approximately now $1.5 trillion. In other words, President Obama has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-pawlenty/when-president-bush-left-office-the-deficit-was-approximately-500/) [Tim Pawlenty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-pawlenty/) > [There's an intrinsic value in creating something for the sake of creating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-mullen/there-s-an-intrinsic-value-in-creating-something-for-the-sake-of/) [Rodney Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-mullen/) > [What it is is that there's an intrinsic value in creating something for the sake of creating it, and better than that ... there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-mullen/what-it-is-is-that-there-s-an-intrinsic-value-in-creating-something/) [Rodney Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-mullen/) > [“The hallmark of innovation is surprise. No surprise, nothing new. Nothing new, no interest. No interest, no value. Therefore, creating surprise is a crucial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-neumeier/the-hallmark-of-innovation-is-surprise-no-surprise-nothing-new/) [Marty Neumeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-neumeier/) > [Real value means people value-and creating value really means helping people choose better lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-demille/real-value-means-people-value-and-creating-value-really-means-helping/) [Oliver DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-demille/) > [I don't think anybody's really been successful with theorizing about value or creating a price theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/i-don-t-think-anybody-s-really-been-successful-with-theorizing-about/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“Anytime you build something of immense value, you are creating a promising future for yourself and the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/anytime-you-build-something-of-immense-value-you-are-creating-a/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Being captive to quarterly earnings isn't consistent with long-term value creation. This pressure and the short term focus of equity markets make it difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/being-captive-to-quarterly-earnings-isn-t-consistent-with-long-term/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [When I was a CEO, I thought I understood private equity. I didn't. And what I've learned since my retirement, and since becoming directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-williams/when-i-was-a-ceo-i-thought-i-understood-private-equity-i-didn-t-and/) [Ron Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-williams/) > [“Measure the CIO’s success on value creation, and you’ll get the kind of performance you need out of IT.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/measure-the-cio-s-success-on-value-creation-and-you-ll-get-the-kind/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) > [“Diversification is a component and in some cases a very good initiation of value creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/diversification-is-a-component-and-in-some-cases-a-very-good/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) > [“Unlike John Lasseter’s bosses at Disney, Bezos was open to the entrepreneurial contributions of Amazon’s individual employees—even when those ideas were outside what Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/unlike-john-lasseter-s-bosses-at-disney-bezos-was-open-to-the/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [Companies that solely focus on competition will ultimately die. Those that focus on value creation will thrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/companies-that-solely-focus-on-competition-will-ultimately-die-those/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [“International peace negotiations need more value creation than value claiming. The more we create value for peace and development, the easier it is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/international-peace-negotiations-need-more-value-creation-than-value/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) ## More by Gene Kim > [“for those organizations that provided a stock ticker symbol, we found that high performers had 50% higher market capitalization growth over three years. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/for-those-organizations-that-provided-a-stock-ticker-symbol-we-found/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“A critical part of the Second Way is making wait times visible, so you know when your work spends days sitting in someone’s queue—or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/a-critical-part-of-the-second-way-is-making-wait-times-visible-so-you/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“when something does go wrong, we conduct blameless post-mortems, not to punish anyone, but to better understand what caused the accident and how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/when-something-does-go-wrong-we-conduct-blameless-post-mortems-not-to/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Bill Baker, a distinguished engineer at Microsoft, quipped that we used to treat servers like pets: “You name them and when they get sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/bill-baker-a-distinguished-engineer-at-microsoft-quipped-that-we-used/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“To even get feedback from our integration process would require twenty-four to thirty-six hours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/to-even-get-feedback-from-our-integration-process-would-require/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“work can bounce between teams endlessly due to incomplete information, or work can be passed onto downstream work centers with problems that remain completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/work-can-bounce-between-teams-endlessly-due-to-incomplete-information/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“practicing five minutes daily is better than practicing once a week for three hours. And if you want to create a genuine culture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/practicing-five-minutes-daily-is-better-than-practicing-once-a-week/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“habits are what enable mastery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/habits-are-what-enable-mastery/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“20% on detailed planning (Their poor throughput and high lead times were misattributed to faulty estimation, and so, hoping to get a better answer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/20-on-detailed-planning-their-poor-throughput-and-high-lead-times/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Features are always a gamble. If you’re lucky, ten percent will get the desired benefits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/features-are-always-a-gamble-if-you-re-lucky-ten-percent-will-get-the/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“I listen to Wes and Patty brainstorm ideas to reduce yet another dependency on Brent when something starts to bother me. Erik called WIP,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/i-listen-to-wes-and-patty-brainstorm-ideas-to-reduce-yet-another/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [The status quo (of development) pre-ordains failure from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/the-status-quo-of-development-pre-ordains-failure-from-the-very/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“high performers were twice as likely to exceed profitability, market share, and productivity goals. And,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/high-performers-were-twice-as-likely-to-exceed-profitability-market/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“we value improvement of our daily work more than daily work itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/we-value-improvement-of-our-daily-work-more-than-daily-work-itself/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [“Alert fatigue is the single biggest problem we have right now…We need to be more intelligent about our alerts or we’ll all go insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/alert-fatigue-is-the-single-biggest-problem-we-have-right-now-we-need/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) [Explore all 175 Gene Kim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In addition to the human suffering that comes with the current way of working, the opportunity cost of the value that we could be creating is staggering—the authors believe that we are missing out on approximately $2.6 trillion of value creation per year, which is, at the time of this writing, equivalent to the annual economic output of France, the sixth-largest economy in the world.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Kim" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that-comes-with-the-current-way-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that-comes-with-the-current-way-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/716/gene-kim-2268_books_in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that_2941353.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In addition to the human suffering that comes with the current way of working, the opportunity cost of the…” — Gene Kim", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gene Kim", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In addition to the human suffering...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that-comes-with-the-current-way-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/in-addition-to-the-human-suffering-that-comes-with-the-current-way-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```