Topic : Organization
Ultimate Librarian
Historians have related the heartwarming story of Abdul Kassem Ismael, the scholarly grand-vizier of Persia in the tenth century, and his library of 117,000 volumes. On his many travels as a warrior and statesman, he never parted with his beloved books. There were carried about by 400 camels trained to walk in alphabetical order. His camel-driver librarians could put their hands instantly on any book their master asked for.
Bones in an Orgainization
There are four main bones in every organization.
1. The wish-bones: Wishing somebody would do something about the problem.
2. The jaw-bones: Doing all the talking but very little else.
3. The knuckle-bones: Those who knock everything.
4. The back-bones: Those who carry the brunt of the load and do most of the work.
Peanuts/Lunus
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t.
“What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus.
“These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single fist, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”
“Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?”
In his book Harvest of Humanity, John Seamands told this story: “A German soldier was wounded. He was ordered to go to the military hospital for treatment. When he arrived at the large and imposing building, he saw two doors, one marked, ‘For the slightly wounded,’ and the other, ‘For the seriously wounded.’”
“He entered through the first door and found himself going down a long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, ‘For officers,’ and the other, ‘For non-officers.’ He entered through the latter and found himself going down another long hall. At the end of it were two more doors, one marked, ‘For party members’ and the other, ‘For non-party members.’ He took the second door, and when he opened it he found himself out on the street.”
“When the soldier returned home, his mother asked him, ‘How did you get along at the hospital?’ ‘Well, Mother,’ he replied, ‘to tell the truth, the people there didn’t do anything for me, but you ought to see the tremendous organization they have!’”
