On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:59:49 -0600, Paul <subsolar@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Tue, 2005-01-11 at 06:59 -0700, Christopher A. Williams wrote: > <SNIP> > > This doesn't sound good at all. If it's the powers that be who are > > saying this, the real answers to your questions are: > > > > 1) They probably don't know themselves, but they got "sold" with a > > really flashy demo... > > Yes, the OOHHH PRETTY!!! effect ;^). > > > 2) You personally can't unless you're their boss - that train has > > already left the station. Your best hope is that, if the answer to > > question 1 is correct, they will fail because they actually don't know > > why they want what they do. In this case, no matter what technology you > > deploy, failure is almost certain because the expectations from > > management and what's actually possible will be 2 very different things. > > Been there, done that. > > Best thing I've found is to step out of the way and let whatever > consultant demoed the product implement it and really mess things up and > waste a-lot of the companies money. Be helpful but don't take ownership > of the project, keep your eyes and ears open to what the users really > want and when the whole project goes down the tubes you will be in a > good position to offer a functional alternative. > > Otherwise if you question the project too much you will be labeled as > obstructionist and not a "team player" and may very well end up the fall > guy when baskets of money are spent for no gain. > > Yes, it's disingenuous maybe, but can be entertaining watching > executives & consultants sweat and you may end up being the hero. It's > the only way I've found to keep sane and happy when management decides > that some technology or new business process will cure all the companies > ills and the biggest ill is lack of listening. > > Regards, > Paul WOW! Paul, that is a most excellent description of the dance that so many of us have had to do. I have never heard it so clearly and plainly explained, but that is exactly right. There really is no limit to the stupidity of corporate environments; the groupthink is astoundingly bad. It is a shame that you have to think that way, but it makes complete sense. Why be the scapegoat for organizational stupidity? Use it to your advantage, might as well make yourself the problem solver in the situation. I know of a state university where, I realize, to illustrate the waste ---they wouldn't hold a bonfire of money ---that would be WAAAY too ordinary and not NEARLY arrogant enough. The only way they waste money, is if they truly have multiple convoys of dump trucks full of thousand dollar bills. I was hired for a big rollout of million dollar vaporware, then I was basically given next to nothing to do, for a solid year. Then they have a guy with 30,000 dollars worth of Dell rackmount servers with RAID and everything, on his DESK in his CUBE. They treat him like a king. He comes at 7 am and leaves at 9:30 a.m. daily. The management is SO VERY STUPID that they think that he is a MAGICIAN who is INDESPENSIBLE. He runs a windows 2000 SQL database and some proprietary software. ***WOW****What genius. [You'd think they were recruiting for native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, and he was the **only** one they could find in the entire USA! ] Yes indeed folks, our tax dollars at work... It sounds like you are basically arguing for a triangulation strategy -- give the idiots enough rope and they will hang themselves. Well, it's not that simple. The idiots will hang themselves -- however, then companies like M$ sell them additional stuff to suppossedly make it better. So the spiral just keeps getting dumber and dumber, and more and more expensive, but if management doesn't care and isn't savvy enough to wise up, then it is a hopeless situation. There are organizations out there that just continue to spend and spend without any real wisening up. Hopefully there are fewer and fewer of those organizations. And let's all make a note that some of the dumbest places are quasi-government institutions like the university that I mentioned where there literally is no end to excuses to spend more money on inefficient proprietary software, and absolutely zero profit incentive whatsoever. Marc
