"Charles L. Harness-The Alchemist" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harness Charles L)

better doctor. Well, Gruen had this done to them, and they seem to be the only surveyed surveyors in
the business. That's how they developed their 'Unit Profile,' where they pick one man who has nearly all
the faults of the research laboratory they're trying to correct."
"But wouldn't it be still better," said Patrick blandly, "if we could be surveyed by a group who had
been straightened out by Gruen? Then we'd be surveyed by a surveyed surveyed group. Hope uses only
the very best, you know."
"The point came up." Bleeker was equally bland. "But good sense prevailed."
Both men were silent a moment. Each seemed to be waiting for the other to speak. Patrick knew then
that the same thought must be on Bleeker's mind. So Patrick, being the junior, said it. "What happens
when they find Pierre Celsus?"
***


The first session with Gruen Associates took place in the Executive Dining Room, an intimate,
expensively appointed room down the hall from the large lab cafeteria.
Patrick had long ago noted that Bleeker liked to conduct important discussions at the luncheon table.
The theory was that Yankee pot roast following cocktails loosened a man's tongue and evoked basic
truths, or at least turned up any latent disagreements, all of which might require excessive time and money
to discover in other ways. Furthermore it was the simplest and quickest way to get to call a man by his
first name, and everybody agreed this helped communication and delayed the development of paralyzing
differences of viewpoint. But whatever the reasons, Patrick always liked a good meal with experts in their
own fields.
While coffee was being poured, they finally got down to business.
"I want to make one thing clear," said Bleeker. "This is not a criticism of anyone, except possibly
myself. Arnold Gruen and his people are here to determine whether I can improve the operation of the
lab. Arnold's staff, Joe and Ben, here will come in, starting tomorrow, and they'll be talking to a number
of us. They'll talk to all our group leaders and to a number of our chemists and technicians at all levels.
They'll make appointments ahead of time. Work them in, somehow. Within a few weeks, Arnold will put
together a report and then I'll decide whether we ought to change some of our procedures. Arnold,
perhaps you can explain the mechanics of your survey, exactly what you intend to accomplish, and how
you will do it."
"Of course, Andy. It's really quite simple. We at Gruen have one basic objective-- increasing the
dividend to the shareholders. We continue to exist because we have been able to help our clients meet
this objective. Now, there's a fundamental corollary to our main objective, and that is, that industrial
research, such as you have here at Hope, exists for the sole purpose of making money for the company,
and to make this money as quickly as possible. To accomplish this, every man in the lab must recognize
that he is part of a team. No man in a modern laboratory can work alone. He must recognize roadblocks
instantly, and call in help immediately. He must be able to analyze and explain, or his project will bog
down. He must communicate. That's the key word: communicate. And it must be instant." He turned
to Patrick. "Con, your department has a vital function in all this. The life of a United States patent is
seventeen years. Our studies show that, up until recent years, only the last five to seven years of a typical
patent are of any use in protecting a basic new invention. Why? Because it so often takes ten to twelve
years to proceed from the first experimental work to the first commercial plant. One of our aims is to cut
this idle patent time. We do this by cutting the development phase to three years." Gruen took a sip of
coffee and smiled. "Do I hear incredulous murmurs? I repeat: three years. It can be done. And it's all in
communication. Everybody knows what everybody else is doing. Problems will be recognized instantly.
But here I am, still talking in generalities." He turned to Kober. "Ben, will you explain what you and Joe
Marel are going to do, starting tomorrow?"
"Certainly, Arnold. My function-- and Joe's-- is to interview some of your key people. We've already
drawn up a list. This was based on a study of several hundred project reports written by approximately