t.s.'s references today (q.v.) to the Pied Piper of Hamelin reminded me of a person I worked for several years ago. My coworkers and I were outspoken and creative types, and often found ourselves at odds with, or at the least wanting to modify, the policy/procedure as handed down from management.

Our manager used to admonish us by saying, "He who pays the piper calls the tune," which was to say that power and money give the authority to command performance. We used to argue that we had been hired specifically for our experience, creativity and expertise, and that it would make sense for management to listen to what we had to say. And, further, there were ethical and practical elements to consider as well.

You can imagine the outcome. He who paid the piper did, in fact, call the tune. It was pretty naive of us to think it would ever be otherwise.