The examination of Robert Macleod’s new creation continues in the carriage. We have finally reached the start of Glasgow’s Great Western Road. Robert shakes off the water from the map and hands it over, “The water doesn’t penetrate. Alexander Campbell scoured the world for this material and combined it with his new printing techniques to make it both waterproof and durable.”
“Two requirements achieved. How did you find the third one?”
Robert Macleod sits back and strokes his beard, “Insurmountable.”
“You can’t make it within budget?”
“No. I have tried everything.” Robert retreats into his seat.
There are specific reactions you save for the different challenges you face in working life. I burst out laughing, “Robert, look at what you have achieved? We are on the final stretch, and you have nearly everything I have requested. We have one final predicament: cost?”
“Yes. Glasgow Town Council set its ceiling price, which unfortunately is similar to the current cost price. They want it to be widely distributable and affordable.”
“And they have forgotten their quality demands, which are expensive?”
“Yes. I cannot produce the quality required for the price and enable us to make money.”
Robert looks into the floor of the carriage, searching for the answer to his question.
We never find the answers to life’s problems on the floor.
The Hampden Collection 