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The most important thing is that man should be the measure of all structures, including economic structures, and not that man be made to measure for those structures. The most important thing is not to lose sight of personal relationships - i.e., the relationships between man and his co-workers, between subordinates and their superiors, between man and his work, between this work and its consequences.'

Vaclav Havel#28

EthicsHumanityWorkBusinessEconomicsRelationships

About this quote

What does it mean?
Human needs should drive economic structures, not the other way around.
In plain terms
Design systems around people, not people around systems.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize human relationships in business design.

Where it applies

  • business strategy
  • organizational design
  • policy

Putting it to work

  • survey employee needs
  • review workflows
  • value relationships

Questions to consider

  • Who does your work serve?
  • Is efficiency worth cost?

Another view

Markets often prioritize efficiency over human measures.

More from Vaclav Havel

  1. It's not true that you should first think up an idea for a better world and only then 'put it into practice,' but, rather, through the fact of your existence i…

    Permalink to quote #27
  2. A genuinely fundamental and hopeful improvement in 'systems' cannot happen without a significant shift in human consciousness.

    Permalink to quote #29
  3. If the world is to change for the better it must start with a change in human consciousness, in the very humanness of modern man.

    Permalink to quote #26

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