Ghost of a flea: Going Postal

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June 17, 2005

Going Postal

I am reading one of Terry Pratchett's more recent Discworld books and I am delighted to report Going Postal is as good as the best of them. Pratchett's writing is clever and witty but also manages to reach into the heart of the important things in life: duty, courage and love. This passage on craftsmanship struck me in particular.

He wanted to say, oh, how he wanted to say: craftsmen. D'you know what that means? It means men with some pride, who get fed up and leave when they're told to do skimpy work in a rush, no matter what you pay them. So I'm employing people as 'craftsmen' now who're barely fit to sweep out a workshop. But you don't care, because if they don't polish a chair with their arse all day you think a man who's done a seven-year apprenticeship is the same as some twerp who can't be trusted to hold a hammer by the right end.

Such is the state of too much of the world. I am all in favour of efficiences and think there is something to be said for right-sizing organizations. Then there is brightsizing. I have no doubt the observation underlying this Dilbertism will be familiar to Flea-readers in offices everywhere.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at June 17, 2005 06:23 AM

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