Last edited by The_Shooman (2008-06-13 14:14:56)

Last edited by flannel (2008-06-13 14:07:35)

Actually, the description of your mishaps led me to a reflection on British enterprise in general (sort of a professional deviation) - how so many good designs, so many beautiful, elegant, functional products were destroyed by a resistance (one almost has to think constitutional) to predictable, repeatable, industrialized process. Triumph, Aston Martin, the Aga stove, EG. You name it.

In the areas we all love here, think of how the Italians managed to create an empire around the development, industrialization and marketing of their textiles: one has to wonder whether they really are better than their English counterparts (the answer from many, WIll included, would be 'hell no!'). Yet, here we stand: the Italian textile industry victorious; the British one a niche afterthought (in terms of mass market numbers). Is it by design? I doubt it, and surmise it is more a product of the inability/unwillingness to rethink the supply chain and production process. We might be the fortunate beneficiaries of this unintended niche startegy (and yes, even as an Italian, I mostly favor British cloth), yet have to ask ourselves if it really is luck, when that same strategic model might deliver our beloved producers into extinction.

BTW, this is proposed mournfully and by no means intended to be condescending or offensive to our British friends here... if it does indeed come across as such, accept the apologies of a management consultant 'doing hard time' on a Saturday afternoon.

Last edited by flannel (2008-06-14 12:13:52)

Last edited by Godspeed (2008-06-14 14:04:08)

I was, of course, euphemizing.

Another interesting area of inquiry is: some do put up with it. Why?

1. Cipolla provides a viable answer

http://www.cantrip.org/stupidity.html

2. I suspect, however, that the unpredictability of the process is not only acceptable but even desirable to many who confuse made-to-order production, which is industrial, with bespoke manufacturing, which, by definition, is not.

As for myself, while my illustrious fellow countryman's theory of stupidity is frightfully broad and powerful (hence, I could well be a cretin anyway), I tend to have little patience even with the 'charming' unpredictability of true artisans, which most of their customers do find endearing. I once told a famous tailor that the suit they made for me looked like crap on me (apertis verbis) - which predictably did not propitiate a friendly collaboration thereafter.

Last edited by flannel (2008-06-15 11:22:01)