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Maybe my mother was wrong
The neglect *almost* cost them downtime. And while I've seen many such (from my perspective) "penny-wise, pound-foolish" decisions, it's hard to argue that their decisions in this case actually caused a problem.
When I was a child, I had an alarming tendency to get out of the family car when we had parked in a parking lot and gleefully scamper between autos and into the main lot aisle. This, of course, was done without looking. My mother, trying to control a spontaneous heart attack, hollered at me to stay put, hold her hand, and not run around in traffic.
But hey! No-one hit me! All the drivers seemed to have good reflexes and their power steering was in good shape... most of the time. My neglect only *almost* cost me downtime. It's hard to argue that my actions in that case actually caused a problem.
Sorry mom. Apparently you were wrong. It was okay for me to play in traffic.
Yep. Their attitude towards IT didn't cause a catastrophic problem, but the odds were against them, that's for sure. My struggles with management leaders like this is not a technical one. I try to extract all tech-speak from my presentations and simply tell it to them straight. "This is the risks we face, here are the options. If we choose a lean option then know that these risks are higher. If this is clearly understood and acceptable, I'll start implementing."
Their decision to neglect the systems was dangerous enough, but their misunderstanding of the potential for IT to help reach business goals is also sad. Depending on the industry that this business is in, who know the added edge that IT could offer their workflows? Add a good developer or two and a full time sysadmin and in a few years there could easily be a 7 figure increase in net gain, not to mention poising the company for future growth in heretofore unimagined directions.
I think the battle here isn't as technical as it seems at first blush. It's not about gutsy techie stuff, but about business goals and risk management. If a company is serious about growing their business, taking such huge risks to their vital infrastructure seems needless. Would they scrimp on building materials that didn't meet the fire code, or not put in sprinkler systems? I hope not.
However, in this area I think IT is its own worst enemy. How many developers and admins do you know who have good business sense, communications skills, and the technical savvy to gain the confidence and support of leadership? Yeah, I thought so.
Oh well. It's getting dark here and I'm bored. I think I'll put a black shirt on and go play in the street.
When I was a child, I had an alarming tendency to get out of the family car when we had parked in a parking lot and gleefully scamper between autos and into the main lot aisle. This, of course, was done without looking. My mother, trying to control a spontaneous heart attack, hollered at me to stay put, hold her hand, and not run around in traffic.
But hey! No-one hit me! All the drivers seemed to have good reflexes and their power steering was in good shape... most of the time. My neglect only *almost* cost me downtime. It's hard to argue that my actions in that case actually caused a problem.
Sorry mom. Apparently you were wrong. It was okay for me to play in traffic.
Yep. Their attitude towards IT didn't cause a catastrophic problem, but the odds were against them, that's for sure. My struggles with management leaders like this is not a technical one. I try to extract all tech-speak from my presentations and simply tell it to them straight. "This is the risks we face, here are the options. If we choose a lean option then know that these risks are higher. If this is clearly understood and acceptable, I'll start implementing."
Their decision to neglect the systems was dangerous enough, but their misunderstanding of the potential for IT to help reach business goals is also sad. Depending on the industry that this business is in, who know the added edge that IT could offer their workflows? Add a good developer or two and a full time sysadmin and in a few years there could easily be a 7 figure increase in net gain, not to mention poising the company for future growth in heretofore unimagined directions.
I think the battle here isn't as technical as it seems at first blush. It's not about gutsy techie stuff, but about business goals and risk management. If a company is serious about growing their business, taking such huge risks to their vital infrastructure seems needless. Would they scrimp on building materials that didn't meet the fire code, or not put in sprinkler systems? I hope not.
However, in this area I think IT is its own worst enemy. How many developers and admins do you know who have good business sense, communications skills, and the technical savvy to gain the confidence and support of leadership? Yeah, I thought so.
Oh well. It's getting dark here and I'm bored. I think I'll put a black shirt on and go play in the street.
Posted by Nonapeptide
19th Apr 2008
