Fable
The all-purpose hand in the blacksmith shop and the name in the register
The old town blacksmith shop had a shop treasure—a universal iron hand. The iron hand could be fitted with different palm pieces: today a pliers head to grip iron blocks; tomorrow a hammer head to strike iron sparks; the day after, a drill bit to make holes. The master craftsmen at the blacksmith shop called this iron hand the "universal hand."
The blacksmith shop needed to interface with outside orders and could not always speak in jargon. So the accountant gave the universal hand an official name in the register: "fixture-switching arm." This name appeared in all external quotations, user manuals, and procurement contracts. The accountant was proud, feeling this name was more precise and respectable than "universal hand."
A new apprentice came, looked through the register, saw the five words “fixture switching arm,” and ran to ask the master: what exactly is this thing for? The master pointed to the universal hand and said: this is it. The apprentice asked again: then why doesn’t the register directly say universal hand? The master was stunned for a moment, then said: universal hand is what everyone in the shop understands; fixture switching arm is the name shown to outsiders for contracts. When you learn the work, use the term universal hand; when you write contracts, use the term fixture switching arm. It is the same thing, but the name depends on the occasion.
Two years later the blacksmith shop had expanded into an ironworks and taken on large government orders. The government procurement documents referred to the 'fixture switching arm', but the workshop's internal process manuals, master-apprentice transmission and daily production scheduling all used 'universal hand'. After the newly appointed procurement manager received the documents, he searched the market for suppliers of the 'fixture switching arm' and found only one quote. The old manager stopped him: search for universal hand, and the whole street is full of them.
After this incident, the ironworks set a rule: any formal name in external documents must be registered in the internal terminology table with an alias, clearly marking "what it is called internally, what it is called externally, and whether they are the same thing." Moreover, before every external communication, both sides first review the name-to-reality comparison table to ensure terminology does not become an obstacle to closing deals.
Later the workshop's business grew larger and it began using iron hands from different vendors, and each vendor called this thing differently—some called it "universal hand," some "fixture switching arm," some "motorized palm." The workshop simply created a column in the glossary called "generic concept" and put "universal hand" in it, with a string of specific product names from each vendor listed below. Internal discussions used the generic concept, contracts used vendor names—two word lists maintained side by side.
Even later, when a new apprentice arrived on the first day, he first copied the glossary, then went to learn blacksmithing—knowing what the same thing was called in the shop, in the contract, and in other shops. The master said: hands-on skill can be practiced slowly, but if names and realities do not match, no matter how beautiful the work is, it cannot be signed.
Later the workshop hung a name-versus-reality comparison board at the entrance and updated it daily. Under the name of the all-purpose hand were listed the different terms used by three factories. Visitors looked at the board first, then entered.