Painterly small brass gear beside a stack of larger gears under a beam of warm light.

Original artwork, not a still

Small Gods • 1992

Terry Pratchett

The people who really run organizations are usually found several levels down, where it is still possible to get things done.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Pratchett makes a wry observation about organizational power, suggesting that the people with real influence aren't the ones at the top but those further down who still have hands-on control and can actually make things happen.

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