His first step
was to read. History of the Post Office. Operation of a Post
Office. Management books in general. Operations Research,
Management Analysis, Industrial Engineering, Sex Life of the Sea
Turtle - Oops! That book was misfiled, on the wrong shelf.
Anyway, it was really dull reading.
He interviewed the customers of the Post Office. He interviewed
those who delivered the mail. He interviewed the managers. The
more they talked, the less he knew.
He attempted to examine the day-to-day operations. In spite of
his credentials as Zeus' emissary, he found little cooperation.
Organization charts were missing. Long term plans were
non-existent. Budgets were cursory documents. Balance sheets and
Profit and Loss statements were fiction.
The warehouses bulged!
The mail was accumulating at a phenomenal rate. The mail was
being delivered at a minuscule rate.
Fingerpointing was rampant!
Managers blamed workers. Workers blamed management. Zeus blamed
Demo. The people blamed everyone.
And Cupid waited impatiently for his arrows!
What to do!
He discussed the situation with his Mother.
"Why, dear, there really seem to be two problems. Delivering
the mail that has accumulated, and insuring that it doesn't
accumulate in the future. Perhaps you could burn the backlog,
and throw away all incoming mail for a while."
"Burn! Throw away! Mother, Zeus would be furious! Besides, what
if I burned Cupid's arrows? Athena and I might never be united!"
Nevertheless, he thought about his Mother's words.
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