--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nobody can be at the same time a correct…" description: "\"Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator\" — Ludwig von Mises" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png" --- # Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an… ![“Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator” quote by Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png) > “Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator” [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bureaucrat focused on rules cannot simultaneously be an innovator who challenges the status quo. **In simple terms:** Bureaucrats struggle with innovation. Key Takeaway Balance structure and creativity. Themes bureaucracy innovation management change leadership Mood analytical pragmatic Type theoretical practical When to use this quote - corporate strategy - public administration - startup culture - policy reform Key Concepts organizational theory creative disruption risk management Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations foster innovation? - What incentives motivate creative risk? A Different Perspective Innovation may be stifled by red tape. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bureaucrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrat/) [Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Innovator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovator/) [Innovators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovators/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [What counts alone is the innovator, the dissenter, the harbinger of things unheard of, the man who rejects the traditional standards and aims at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/what-counts-alone-is-the-innovator-the-dissenter-the-harbinger-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I'm only twenty-five. If I've made a mistake I have time to correct it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-m-only-twenty-five-if-i-ve-made-a-mistake-i-have-time-to-correct-it/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I've made so many mistakes and I always thought I'd have time to correct them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-bauer/i-ve-made-so-many-mistakes-and-i-always-thought-i-d-have-time-to/) [Jack Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-bauer/) > [I believe that life-saving, essential drugs should be freely available and the innovator should be paid a suitable royalty payment for his invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-hamied/i-believe-that-life-saving-essential-drugs-should-be-freely-available/) [Yusuf Hamied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-hamied/) > [It's one of the underappreciated skills required by an innovator - they have to be able to convince lots of people to do things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-anthony/it-s-one-of-the-underappreciated-skills-required-by-an-innovator-they/) [Scott D. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [I am an innovator. This is a term of distinction, a term of honor, rather than something to hide or apologize for. Anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-am-an-innovator-this-is-a-term-of-distinction-a-term-of-honor/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It's very hard to be an innovator at the highest level in any discipline. For some chefs it's merely about combining ingredients, but that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/it-s-very-hard-to-be-an-innovator-at-the-highest-level-in-any/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [There's a general belief that failure is the friend of the innovator, but I've come to view it a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-anthony/there-s-a-general-belief-that-failure-is-the-friend-of-the-innovator/) [Scott D. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [So, it's a very, you know - maybe we're wrong in - you know, we go around thinking the innovator is the person who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/so-it-s-a-very-you-know-maybe-we-re-wrong-in-you-know-we-go-around/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/it-ought-to-be-remembered-that-there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [The definition of art has to shift whenever an innovator appears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hoving/the-definition-of-art-has-to-shift-whenever-an-innovator-appears/) [Thomas Hoving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hoving/) > [I guess I'd like to be known for being an innovator, fostering creativity, thinking outside the box. You know, keeping people playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-bushnell/i-guess-i-d-like-to-be-known-for-being-an-innovator-fostering/) [Nolan Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-bushnell/) > [What's the DNA of a marketer? We call it the 4-I's: instigator, implementer, innovator, and integrator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-comstock/what-s-the-dna-of-a-marketer-we-call-it-the-4-i-s-instigator/) [Beth Comstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-comstock/) > [My father was an innovator. He's the first person who sang and set Rumi's poetry into music 35 years, 40 years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez-nazeri/my-father-was-an-innovator-he-s-the-first-person-who-sang-and-set/) [Hafez Nazeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez-nazeri/) > [Coach may have been the greatest innovator the sport has ever had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-morrow/coach-may-have-been-the-greatest-innovator-the-sport-has-ever-had/) Ken Morrow ## More by Ludwig von Mises > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Changes in human conditions are brought about by the pioneering of the cleverest and most energetic men. They take the lead and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/changes-in-human-conditions-are-brought-about-by-the-pioneering-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [During the 2300 years since Plato, very little opposition has been registered to his ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/during-the-2300-years-since-plato-very-little-opposition-has-been/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“How little one is justified in speaking in this connection of "optimism" and "pessimism" and how much the characterization of liberalism as "optimistic" aims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/how-little-one-is-justified-in-speaking-in-this-connection-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Every step by which an individual substitutes concerted action for isolated action results in an immediate and recognizable improvement in his conditions. The advantages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/every-step-by-which-an-individual-substitutes-concerted-action-for/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The capitalistic social order, therefore, is an economic democracy in the strictest sense of the word. In the last analysis, all decisions are dependent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-capitalistic-social-order-therefore-is-an-economic-democracy-in/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Without calculation, economic activity is impossible. Since under Socialism economic calculation is impossible, under Socialism there can be no economic activity in our sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/without-calculation-economic-activity-is-impossible-since-under/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [There is no kind of freedom and liberty other than the kind which the market economy brings about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/there-is-no-kind-of-freedom-and-liberty-other-than-the-kind-which-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Peace and not war is the father of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/peace-and-not-war-is-the-father-of-all-things/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [What counts alone is the innovator, the dissenter, the harbinger of things unheard of, the man who rejects the traditional standards and aims at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/what-counts-alone-is-the-innovator-the-dissenter-the-harbinger-of/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [All this talk: the state should do this or that, ultimately means: the police should force consumers to behave otherwise than they would behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/all-this-talk-the-state-should-do-this-or-that-ultimately-means-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The most successful businessmen were often uneducated when measured by the scholastic standards of the teaching profession. But they were equal to their social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-most-successful-businessmen-were-often-uneducated-when-measured/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, by the ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/facts-per-se-can-neither-prove-nor-refute-anything-everything-is/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) [Explore all 637 Ludwig von Mises quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) ## More Bureaucrat quotes > [It saddens me when public officials and bureaucrats are criticized for ulterior motives, none of which I have ever found in a government bureaucrat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-k-powell/it-saddens-me-when-public-officials-and-bureaucrats-are-criticized/) [Michael K. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-powell/) > [There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-something-about-a-bureaucrat-that-does-not-like-a-poem/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“But just imagine how hard you would be to watch if you had a whole office building jammed to the rafters with industrial bureaucrats—men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/but-just-imagine-how-hard-you-would-be-to-watch-if-you-had-a-whole/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [A bureaucrat is one who has the power to say "no" but none to say "yes."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-l-ackoff/a-bureaucrat-is-one-who-has-the-power-to-say-no-but-none-to-say-yes/) [Russell L. Ackoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-l-ackoff/) > [“bureaucrat said. “Come back with a search warrant”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/bureaucrat-said-come-back-with-a-search-warrant/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) > [A BUSINESSMAN cannot force you to buy his product; if he makes a mistake, He suffers the consequences; if he fails, he takes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-businessman-cannot-force-you-to-buy-his-product-if-he-makes-a/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-bye to the Bill of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-only-good-bureaucrat-is-one-with-a-pistol-at-his-head-put-it-in/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“And what does an anthropologist do these days?" sad Paul. "Same thing a supernumerary minister does--becomes a public charge, a bore, or possibly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-does-an-anthropologist-do-these-days-sad-paul-same-thing-a/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Industrialists have begun to realise that they would probably be better at influencing policy themselves, rather than depend on some political stooge or corrupt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sucheta-dalal/industrialists-have-begun-to-realise-that-they-would-probably-be/) [Sucheta Dalal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sucheta-dalal/) > [I don't want anybody between a doctor and a patient - not an insurance company bureaucrat or a Washington bureaucrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrasso/i-don-t-want-anybody-between-a-doctor-and-a-patient-not-an-insurance/) [John Barrasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrasso/) > [“He was a bureaucrat, not a hitman, and most of the time that's what supervillainy looks like in real life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dyer/he-was-a-bureaucrat-not-a-hitman-and-most-of-the-time-that-s-what/) Ben Dyer > [It is outrageous to know that security procedures are apparently so lax at the Department of Veterans Affairs that a single bureaucrat had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-ney/it-is-outrageous-to-know-that-security-procedures-are-apparently-so/) [Bob Ney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-ney/) > [You can lead a bureaucrat to water, but you can't make him think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-keller/you-can-lead-a-bureaucrat-to-water-but-you-can-t-make-him-think/) [Ric Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-keller/) > [The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/the-perfect-bureaucrat-everywhere-is-the-man-who-manages-to-make-no/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [I always thought of myself as a kind of literary bureaucrat. And that was never going to be enough for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-kind-of-literary-bureaucrat-and-that/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) [Browse all 49 Bureaucrat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ludwig von Mises" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct-bureaucrat-and-an-innovator/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bureaucrat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct-bureaucrat-and-an-innovator/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ludwig-von-mises-364_bureaucrat_nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct_2988318.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator” — Ludwig von Mises", "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": "Ludwig von Mises", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nobody can be at the same...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct-bureaucrat-and-an-innovator/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/nobody-can-be-at-the-same-time-a-correct-bureaucrat-and-an-innovator/#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 } } ] } ```