NOTES 49i 



of doing something brilliant, who has seldom understood the 

 business, but who now proposes a resolution which will end the 

 matter — rightly or wrongly. Next, the Chief Guineapig, Mr. 

 Heaviside (who is always a friend of the Chief Talker), seconds 

 the resolution — which is generally so absurd that the poor 

 Director, who knows the business, is rendered speechless with 

 astonishment. Before he has time to collect his wits, the 

 committee smell tea and cigarettes and pass the resolution 

 " nem. con." That finishes it ; and the Director is not allowed 

 to bring up the resolution again in subsequent meetings, because 

 the Chief Talker and the Chief Guineapig will say that it has 

 already been decided. 



The popular contempt of expert talkers is generally fully 

 justified. The art of talking to an assembly really means the 

 art of extracting one or two salient points and suppressing all 

 the rest of the matter. Now in practice it is generally the 

 details, and sometimes what may at first sight appear to be the 

 smallest details, which really count. Moreover, " the pigmy's 

 virtue, eloquence," is not admired by persons capable of doing 

 anything — who recognise that it is something transient and 

 unessential. The Chief Talker of the company is therefore 

 frequently the weakest unit of the company — useless for every- 

 thing save to obscure counsel and to clog action. But it is 

 precisely this type of man who dominates committees. We see 

 him everywhere — with " character " written on his brow, 

 " determination " apparent in his chin, and folly (not apparent) 

 in his poor brain. But whatever he says the Guineapigs are 

 sure to endorse. That is why committees are useful for collect- 

 ing counsel, but generally useless for managing affairs. Com- 

 mittees, like chains, are weaker than their weakest link. 



After all, decision as to action requires a rapid integration, 

 of all the facts, possible only to a single brain. Suppose that 

 I have been studying a subject for months ; then I am quite 

 sure that I have a much greater grasp of it than a dozen men 

 collected at random, even though they are more or less ac- 

 quainted with the subject. Hence my decision as to action 

 will be of greater value than theirs. Committees may have a 

 wider field of knowledge, but each member considers a different 

 term of the series, and none integrates the whole series. Yet 

 the justice of the decision depends entirely, not upon single 

 terms, but upon the sum of all. 



