ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

April 6, 2005

"A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation." 

- H.H. Munro 'Saki' (1870-1916)

Munro was born in Akyab, Burma (now called Myanmar) to an inspector-general for the Burma police when that country was part of the British Empire. His mother was killed by a runaway cow when he was two. He was returned to England with his brother and sister to be raised by his grandmother and aunts in a humorless household. Hector was not a very strong child and the family doctor had declared that none of the siblings would reach adulthood. The three children got by on doses of excitement supplied by their Uncle Wellesly, trips to family on their mothers side, and visits from their father. 

Munro was educated at Pencarwick School in Exmouth and the Bedford Grammar School. In 1893, Munro joined the Colonial Burmese Burma Military Police in a post arranged for him by his father. (Eric Blair, aka George Orwell, also held this position). His failing health, malaria, forced his resignation and return to England, where he started his career as a journalist, writing for the Westminster Gazette, Daily Express, Bystander, Morning Post, and Outlook newspapers. 

He may have chosen his penname from a poem or a reference to a South American monkey. In 1900 Munro's first book appeared, The Rise of the Russian Empire, a historical study modeled after Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It was followed two years later by Not-So-Stories, a collection of short stories and a clear reference to Kipling’s Just-So Stories. 

At the beginning of World War I, although officially over age, Munro joined the enlisted in the 22nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers Army as an ordinary soldier, refusing a commission, claiming that he would not expect soldiers to follow him unless he had experience of battle. He wrote throughout his time in the trenches and was promoted to Lance Sergeant (full Corporal) in September 1916. 

On the 16th of November 1916, while serving near the French town of Beaumount-Hamel, he was shot by a German sniper and killed. Several sources say his last word’s were "Put that damned cigarette out!" After his death, his sister Ethel destroyed most of his papers and wrote her own account of their life.

Much of Saki's work was published posthumously.

There has been a strong trend in business to put CFO's and purchasing agents in final decision-making positions. Too often CFO's and purchasing agents use ROI justifications for budget cuts and price related decisions. In discussions with innovative CFO's, they understand the dire consequence of stripping away programs and resources supporting long-term growth and programs vital to employee & client retention and market innovation. They fail to see that over-controlling costs often has catastrophic consequences on morale and revenue.

The continuous default to controlling costs as a validation for their position and rightful place of authority is too often an expression of ignorance in light of the relationships, personal efforts, and expertise required to grow a business and profits. Saki's quote is an accurate reflection of the presentation of ROI as a solitary justification.

Sincerely,