--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can make the trains run on time but if…" description: "\"We can make the trains run on time but if they are not going where we want them to go, why bother?\" — Neil Postman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg" --- # We can make the trains run on time but if they are not… ![“We can make the trains run on time but if they are not going where we want them to go, why bother?” quote by Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg) > “We can make the trains run on time but if they are not going where we want them to go, why bother?” [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even if systems work efficiently, without aligning with desired goals they become meaningless, questioning the purpose of effort. **In simple terms:** Efficiency without purpose is pointless. Key Takeaway Ensure goals guide actions. Themes efficiency purpose systems goalalignment meaning productivity Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - project planning - policy making - business strategy - personal productivity Key Concepts systems theory goal theory motivation Questions to Reflect On - Are your daily tasks aligned with your long‑term goals? - What metrics ensure alignment? A Different Perspective Efficient processes can waste resources if misaligned with objectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Make Trains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-trains-1292032/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-going/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Trains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trains/) [Trains Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trains-run-1292031/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-bother-1292033/) [Why bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-bother/) ## Related quotes > [Fascism may be good at making the trains run on time, but you wouldn't like some of the destinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/fascism-may-be-good-at-making-the-trains-run-on-time-but-you-wouldn-t/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Metro shows no signs of being able to make its trains run on time. 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There is almost no fact, whether actual or imagined, that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-world-we-live-in-is-very-nearly-incomprehensible-to-most-of-us/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Tüketici psikodramalarla yatıştırılan bir hastadır.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/t-ketici-psikodramalarla-yat-t-r-lan-bir-hastad-r/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Huxley grasped, as Orwell did not, that it is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/huxley-grasped-as-orwell-did-not-that-it-is-not-necessary-to-conceal/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“The written word is assumed to have been reflected upon and revised by its author,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-written-word-is-assumed-to-have-been-reflected-upon-and-revised/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [We do not measure a culture by its output of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-do-not-measure-a-culture-by-its-output-of-undisguised-trivialities/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“In America, the least amusing people are its professional entertainers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/in-america-the-least-amusing-people-are-its-professional-entertainers/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“We were keeping our eye on 1984. 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All that celebrity tagging doesn't bother me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-price/people-are-people-all-that-celebrity-tagging-doesn-t-bother-me-at-all/) [Katie Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-price/) [Browse all 1,604 Bother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can make the trains run on time but if they are not going where we want them to go, why bother?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Postman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-if-they-are-not-going-where-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-if-they-are-not-going-where-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/neil-postman-1598_bother_we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-i_1716053.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can make the trains run on time but if they are not going where we want them to go, why bother?” — Neil Postman", "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": "Neil Postman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can make the trains run...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-if-they-are-not-going-where-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-can-make-the-trains-run-on-time-but-if-they-are-not-going-where-we/#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 } } ] } ```