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'I hadn't heard the door open, but the man was on the spot once more. My private belief, as I think I have mentioned before, is that Jeeves doesn't have to open doors. He's like one of those birds in India who bung their astral bodies about--the chaps, I mean, who having gone into thin air in Bombay, reassemble the parts and appear two minutes later in Calcutta. Only some such theory will account for the fact that he's not there one moment and is there the next. He just seems to float from Spot A to Spot B like some form of gas.

P. G. Wodehouse#92

ServiceSkillCompetenceMystery

About this quote

What does it mean?
Jeeves appears so quickly he seems supernatural, like a spirit.
In plain terms
The servant appears out of nowhere instantly.
What can you take from it?
Extreme competence can seem like magic.

Where it applies

  • workplace admiration
  • unexpected arrival
  • service

Putting it to work

  • Value highly efficient staff
  • Recognize exceptional skill

Questions to consider

  • What makes someone seem indispensable?

Another view

It exaggerates human capability to absurdity.

More from P. G. Wodehouse

  1. 'She loves this newt-nuzzling blister.'

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  2. It isn't often that Aunt Dahlia, lets her angry passions rise, but when she does, strong men climb trees and pull them up after them.

    Permalink to quote #93
  3. Nature, when planning this sterling fellow, shoved in a lot more lower jaw than was absolutely necessary and made the eyes a bit too keen and piercing for one …

    Permalink to quote #90

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