[PLUG] where does Red Hat start x?

Jeme A Brelin jeme at brelin.net
Tue Dec 30 16:01:01 UTC 2003


On Tue, 30 Dec 2003, Chris Jantzen wrote:
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2003 at 03:34:08PM -0800, Jeme A Brelin wrote:
> > undesirable contractor.  See, IT directors get VERY worried when you start
> > talking about decreasing their staff.  If you point out incompetence,
> > you're asking them to tell their boss that incompetence was going on under
> > their nose.  They don't like that.
>
> Actually, I've read that it's more like -- reduction in staff ==
> reduction in budget/clout against other departments in the company. And
> that, in fact, many IT directors *want* more staff, even if they do
> nothing. An image of incomptence is certainly unhealthy, but you can
> play that card against the marketing department just as easily. ;-)

I've read that, too, but it doesn't really bear out in real life, in my
experience.

Staff == budget, certainly, but it's wasted budget if it's useless staff.
In my experience, the department that shows frugality gets the project
funds it requests more readily than the big department full of wasted
funds.

I really think it's a matter of not doing anything the contractor says
because it would show that the staff was not capable of doing it
themselves.

Whenever I hear, "Sounds good, we just have to run it past the head of
that department."  I just shrug and walk away.  They NEVER go with your
recommendations because they didn't think of it themselves.  Job security
is all about stifling innovation.

Hmm... I wonder if someone could put together a coherent economic theory
in which any supply-driven economy stifles innovation.  Wait, I guess
that's just a trivial extension of the idea that innovation is stifled
when power is concentrated in the hands of the few.

But, to digress a bit, yeah, I think radical changes are avoided because
they show the leadership has been failing for some time to keep ahead of
the curve.

The organizations that need external help most are the least likely to
take the advice of external helpers.

J.
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     Jeme A Brelin
    jeme at brelin.net
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