Baby and bathwater

I've been thinking a lot about the saying "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." I did a little research and found that its origin is from the days when families would all do their bathing with just one ration of water. The baby would often be last in line to be washed in a large family, and by that time the water would have been quite murky and dark. It happened on occasion that the baby could be hidden in that water and thrown out with the bathwater.
Now, I know we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, because human life is important! However, I think we can draw a comparison to ministry with that example, because so often we get so bogged down with maintaining possibly ineffective systems and our vision gets muddied so we lose sight of the real priority: people. I'm not saying that administration isn't important, in fact, it is essential! I'm just trying to propose that we shouldn't be distracted by the upkeep of buildings or systems or dollars from the mission and the main thing: people knowing Jesus and His redemptive, life-transforming love.