The Man Is OK If You Are The Man
Working For The Man: £1 of flesh.
Working With The Man: £10 to turn tricks.
Working For The Man Long Enough To Get Valuable Knowledge To Leave And Be The Man: Priceless.
For Everything Else, There's Social Security.
The recent publicity garnered by my Paw-In-Law's young company reminded me of the advice PIL imparted to me one day some years ago on the way to the airport. No, not the one about how to groom eyebrows by encouraging a bonfire with a can of petrol.*
Yes, the corporate world truly smells.
Yes, there's so much that one could do to make it better, more efficient, higher quality.
No, it really doesn't get much better.
No, you can't just run away. Yet.
There is a bright side, he said. If you stay really, really quiet, and filter out all the nuggets of industry knowledge from the company muck, when the time is right you can strike out on your own with like-minded souls and be a model of how things should work. And indeed he did, along with a couple of others close to us who have recently gone into phone booths and come out as entrepreneurs.
Of course, the road is paved with uncertainty and some struggle. But seeing PIL succeed in such a relatively short amount of time is heartening. One day, I may yet follow that fine advice. Until then, I would like to do my part in chipping away at the conspiracy of silence surrounding big company insanity.
As for the other advice, I'm still weighing it up. Never having to wield tweezers again is a distinctly tempting possibility.
*PIL's adventures in DIY have resulted in several masterpieces: new windows, massive extension, beautiful patio. They have also resulted in the occasional DITY (Do It To Yourself).
Working With The Man: £10 to turn tricks.
Working For The Man Long Enough To Get Valuable Knowledge To Leave And Be The Man: Priceless.
For Everything Else, There's Social Security.
The recent publicity garnered by my Paw-In-Law's young company reminded me of the advice PIL imparted to me one day some years ago on the way to the airport. No, not the one about how to groom eyebrows by encouraging a bonfire with a can of petrol.*
Yes, the corporate world truly smells.
Yes, there's so much that one could do to make it better, more efficient, higher quality.
No, it really doesn't get much better.
No, you can't just run away. Yet.
There is a bright side, he said. If you stay really, really quiet, and filter out all the nuggets of industry knowledge from the company muck, when the time is right you can strike out on your own with like-minded souls and be a model of how things should work. And indeed he did, along with a couple of others close to us who have recently gone into phone booths and come out as entrepreneurs.
Of course, the road is paved with uncertainty and some struggle. But seeing PIL succeed in such a relatively short amount of time is heartening. One day, I may yet follow that fine advice. Until then, I would like to do my part in chipping away at the conspiracy of silence surrounding big company insanity.
As for the other advice, I'm still weighing it up. Never having to wield tweezers again is a distinctly tempting possibility.
*PIL's adventures in DIY have resulted in several masterpieces: new windows, massive extension, beautiful patio. They have also resulted in the occasional DITY (Do It To Yourself).
posted by Little Green Potato at 8:33 PM
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