"All right," objected the managing editor, "suppose someone asks for all the data we have on railroads?"
Not a bad question. It was from a finding standpoint.
"Have a separate cross-index by classes," was the answer. "That is, under 'Railroads' have a card showing the name of every——"
"But look at the extra work."
Back to her ANALYSIS went the file clerk. "Why file at all, except to make it easy to find what we file? If we were to set up a system for easiest filing, we'd simply put everything in boxes just as it comes to us. Our main objective is to make information easy to find, and anything that increases the work of filing but lessens the work of finding, is profitable."
The result was a filing system that has made a great mass of data as accessible as the words in the dictionary. And it has taken the human equation out of the job. No longer does the file clerk have to stop and use her judgment as to where she shall file Mr. Stilb's letter. There is ONE PLACE AND JUST ONE PLACE.
And the basis of the plan was the simple process of ANALYZING—of starting with the final objective and WORKING BACKWARD—not forward from the work to be done.
In hundreds of business offices—in countless industrial plants—time, labor and money are being wasted today in outmoded methods which, like Topsy, "just grew." The manager who started them didn't stop to reason out first exactly what had to be done—or if he did, he failed to WORK BACKWARD from the final objective.
One way is as bad as the other.
In fact, it may even be better not to reason at all than fail to get to the very bottom and reason out the absolute right of what has to be done. At least it takes less time.