---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People in any organization, including…"
description: "\"People in any organization, including bureaucrats and politicians, are always attached to the obsolete; the obsolescent; the things that should have wo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png"
---

#  People in any organization, including bureaucrats and…

![“People in any organization, including bureaucrats and politicians, are always attached to the obsolete; the obsolescent; the things that should have worked but didn't; the things that once were productive and no longer are.” quote by Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png)

> “People in any organization, including bureaucrats and politicians, are always attached to the obsolete; the obsolescent; the things that should have worked but didn't; the things that once were productive and no longer are.”

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People cling to outdated practices and tools even when they no longer serve the organization.

**In simple terms:** People hold onto old, useless things.

Key Takeaway

Let go of obsolete methods.

Themes

change organization efficiency

Mood

reflective critical

Type

analytical advisory

When to use this quote

- corporate restructuring
- technology upgrades
- process improvement

Key Concepts

organizational inertia legacy systems resistance to innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- What outdated practice is costing your team?
- How can you identify and discard ineffective tools?

A Different Perspective

Old habits can hinder progress if not actively replaced.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Obsolete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsolete/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [There is no reason to believe that bureaucrats and politicians, no matter how well meaning, are better at solving problems than the people on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-ostrom/there-is-no-reason-to-believe-that-bureaucrats-and-politicians-no/)

[Elinor Ostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elinor-ostrom/)

> [“Bureaucrats and politicians, rather than making decisions, were responding to cues with automatic routines in order to get rewards such as promotions or reelection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/bureaucrats-and-politicians-rather-than-making-decisions-were/)

[charles duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/)

> [From my experience in working with bureaucrats and politicians, if you are a credible business group, they will definitely help you. At the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-adani/from-my-experience-in-working-with-bureaucrats-and-politicians-if-you/)

[Gautam Adani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-adani/)

> [There is no reason to believe that the people who staff the managerial and professional positions in our service institutions are any less qualified,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/there-is-no-reason-to-believe-that-the-people-who-staff-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [People in any organization are always attached to the obsolete - the things that should have worked but did not, the things that once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/people-in-any-organization-are-always-attached-to-the-obsolete-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Management must take the lead in making obsolete its own products and services rather than waiting for a competitor to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/management-must-take-the-lead-in-making-obsolete-its-own-products-and/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [When a subject becomes totally obsolete we make it a required course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/when-a-subject-becomes-totally-obsolete-we-make-it-a-required-course/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [The correct assumption is that what individuals have learned by age twenty-one will begin to become obsolete five to ten years later and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-correct-assumption-is-that-what-individuals-have-learned-by-age/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the skill of learning new skills.Everythi ng else will become obsolete over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-only-skill-that-will-be-important-in-the-21st-century-is-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Government ... can't be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes equitably or fill a pothole, much less decide which of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-prejean/government-can-t-be-trusted-to-control-its-own-bureaucrats-or-collect/)

[Helen Prejean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-prejean/)

> [Politicians and bureaucrats are substituting their uninformed, largely political decisions for those of the marketplace. Their past miscalculations demonstrate that they do not and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-substituting-their-uninformed-largely/)

[Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/)

> [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/)

[Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/)

> [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [Advocacy groups, politicians, and bureaucrats use the government to advance their private good instead of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/advocacy-groups-politicians-and-bureaucrats-use-the-government-to/)

[Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/)

> [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

## More by Peter Drucker

> [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [No executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/no-executive-has-ever-suffered-because-his-subordinates-were-strong/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Results is all that separates one company from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/results-is-all-that-separates-one-company-from-another/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/there-is-nothing-so-useless-as-doing-efficiently-that-which-should/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Our society has become an employee society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/our-society-has-become-an-employee-society/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Replace your pursuit of success with the pursuit of contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/replace-your-pursuit-of-success-with-the-pursuit-of-contribution/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/management-means-in-the-last-analysis-the-substitution-of-thought-for/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Don't try to innovate for the future. Innovate for the present!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/don-t-try-to-innovate-for-the-future-innovate-for-the-present/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [The critical question is not "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-critical-question-is-not-how-can-i-achieve-but-what-can-i/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [We can say with certainty - or 90% probability - that the new industries that are about to be born will have nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/we-can-say-with-certainty-or-90-probability-that-the-new-industries/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [When it rains manna from heaven, some people put up an umbrella. Others reach for a big spoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/when-it-rains-manna-from-heaven-some-people-put-up-an-umbrella-others/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [The enterprise can fulfill its human and social functions only if it prospers as a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-enterprise-can-fulfill-its-human-and-social-functions-only-if-it/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [The computer actually may have aggravated management's degenerative tendency to focus inward on costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-computer-actually-may-have-aggravated-management-s-degenerative/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [Nobody can predict the future; the idea is to have a firm grasp of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nobody-can-predict-the-future-the-idea-is-to-have-a-firm-grasp-of-the/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

> [An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/an-executive-should-be-a-realist-and-no-one-is-less-realistic-than/)

[Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

[Explore all 603 Peter Drucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/)

## More Bureaucrats quotes

> [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [Advocacy groups, politicians, and bureaucrats use the government to advance their private good instead of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/advocacy-groups-politicians-and-bureaucrats-use-the-government-to/)

[Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/)

> [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/)

[Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/)

> [Politicians and bureaucrats are substituting their uninformed, largely political decisions for those of the marketplace. Their past miscalculations demonstrate that they do not and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-substituting-their-uninformed-largely/)

[Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/)

> [Government ... can't be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes equitably or fill a pothole, much less decide which of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-prejean/government-can-t-be-trusted-to-control-its-own-bureaucrats-or-collect/)

[Helen Prejean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-prejean/)

> [I am interested in power, too, but power for you, the people, not power for bureaucrats and politicians and officeholders and all the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-am-interested-in-power-too-but-power-for-you-the-people-not-power/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Politicians and bureaucrats are no different from the rest of us. They will maximize their incentives just like everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-buchanan/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-no-different-from-the-rest-of-us-they/)

[James M. Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-buchanan/)

> [The nearest thing to immortality in this world is a government bureau.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-s-johnson/the-nearest-thing-to-immortality-in-this-world-is-a-government-bureau/)

[Hugh S. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-s-johnson/)

> [The people want government that works for them at every level. They want good government that begins at their doorstep in the barangay, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/the-people-want-government-that-works-for-them-at-every-level-they/)

[Gloria Macapagal Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/)

> [One of the enduring truths of the nation's capital is that bureaucrats survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/one-of-the-enduring-truths-of-the-nation-s-capital-is-that/)

[Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/)

> [The real trouble with the doctor image in America is that it has been grayed by the image of the doctor-as-businessman, the doctor-as-bureaucrat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-alexander/the-real-trouble-with-the-doctor-image-in-america-is-that-it-has-been/)

[Shana Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-alexander/)

> [“In our time... a man whose enemies are faceless bureaucrats almost never wins. It is our equivalent to the anger of the gods in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/in-our-time-a-man-whose-enemies-are-faceless-bureaucrats-almost-never/)

[Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/)

> [Mystical references to society and its programs to help may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/mystical-references-to-society-and-its-programs-to-help-may-warm-the/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [India needs honest bureaucrats; most officers in the system are corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagapathi-babu/india-needs-honest-bureaucrats-most-officers-in-the-system-are-corrupt/)

[Jagapathi Babu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagapathi-babu/)

[Browse all 273 Bureaucrats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "People in any organization, including bureaucrats and politicians, are always attached to the obsolete; the obsolescent; the things that should have worked but didn't; the things that once were productive and no longer are.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Peter Drucker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/people-in-any-organization-including-bureaucrats-and-politicians-are/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bureaucrats"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/people-in-any-organization-including-bureaucrats-and-politicians-are/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/peter-drucker-393_bureaucrats_people-in-any-organization-including-bur_1306521.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People in any organization, including bureaucrats and politicians, are always attached to the obsolete; the…” — Peter Drucker",
                "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": "Peter Drucker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "People in any organization, including bureaucrats...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/people-in-any-organization-including-bureaucrats-and-politicians-are/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/people-in-any-organization-including-bureaucrats-and-politicians-are/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```