Production is the basis of morale.

An org board is a list of hats with seniorities. The hats are in flow sequence.

If one can get a unit producing and actually accomplishing worthwhile production, then their morale will rise.

A hat is a duty. It outlines the actions necessary to accomplish a production and receive what’s needed, change and route it.

Thus, it does not matter too much how one starts a unit producing so long as it does get started.

In theory the I/C holds all functions. When he doesn’t fully outline them they can’t be hatted. If they’re not hatted he wears them as an unknown fog. Simple as that.

I was given a good example of this with just one person who has been on MO lines. She is actually well now. She is miserable. There is nothing wrong with her at all except she is out of the action and is not producing anything.

What defines a hat is a product.

This has been noted in other fields. The “idle rich” are the most miserable people you ever wanted to meet. “To Have and Have Not” or some such title by Hemingway talks about it for the best part of a book.

If you count up the expected products you get the minimum number of hats. The steps to get the product is the hat. Products are also composed of lesser products, so hats can be enlarged. It’s what you designate as a product that makes a hat. It’s the importance of that product to others on the line that makes the hat’s importance.

The completeness and size of the product make the seniority of the hat.

The overall product of a division determines the hat of the divisional officer. The lesser products that when combined make the overall product determine the rest of the division hats.

Until you can define in one go the overall product of a division you aren’t likely to be able to post any real part of its org board. For the product of hats of that div add up to the div product.

[Note: The original mimeo copies of this policy letter incorrectly labeled it as “Esto Series 41” which has been corrected above.]

When you see an unposted or unreal org board, the head of the div is not producing a product with that div, no matter how busy it all looks or how exhausting.