Fable
No matter how fast the messenger runs, he cannot promise a bridge on the city lord's behalf
North Gate City had a team of messengers dedicated to relaying messages from City Hall to the various neighborhoods. In the past the errands were simple: announce road repairs, confirm rosters, chase forms. The messengers ran fast and the residents knew them well, so many small matters were handled the same day.
After the city expanded, the couriers began handling more complex requests. Merchants asked whether they could occupy a road for three days, schools asked whether they could temporarily change routes, and workshops asked whether they could use a repair fund in advance. Everyone hoped the courier would answer on the spot, because waiting at the city hall for approval was too slow.
The department head first gave the messengers a broad authorization: handle reasonable requests on your own. The first few days worked well, and the lines got shorter. But soon, one messenger agreed to let a merchant occupy the road, while another messenger agreed to let a convoy pass on the same day; someone approved a small advance payment without knowing that the same street had already been advanced three times.
The incident happened on a rainy night. To appease the dock merchants' association, a messenger verbally promised that City Hall would build a temporary bridge within ten days. The association signed freight contracts based on that promise. The commissioner only learned the next day that the budget, craftsmen, and permits didn't exist.
The director did not blame the messenger for being diligent. He laid out all the errands and found the problem was blurred boundaries: which words were merely relayed, which could be confirmed, which could change schedules, and which involved spending money, contracts, public safety and external commitments.
The new rules were written on a boundary map. Couriers could confirm information, arrange low-risk times, and issue standard forms; when exceeding an amount, affecting public roads, changing contracts, accessing sensitive archives, or committing municipal resources externally, approval from the office was required.
The boundary map also specified how records should be kept. Every reply had to state its basis, limit, and validity period. If a courier encountered a new situation, he did not need to guess what the director thought; instead, he escalated the request according to the boundary and told the other party when a formal reply could be expected.
A few months later, the people still felt the courier got things done quickly, but the city was no longer dragged into trouble by verbal promises. The commissioner said authorization is not about stuffing the lord's seal into someone else's bag, but clearly stating what can be done, how far it can go, and when it must stop.