<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br><div><div>On Oct 14, 2010, at 3:53 PM, Michael Trausch wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><p>The real problem is that people don't ASK, they ASSUME. I know this first hand. I don't get specifics unless I drag them out. And you know what? I can only say "tell me where it hurts" and coddle grownups like a toddler so much before I give up. I don't have to coddle my 4 year old that way, so why would I coddle a 50 something that way?</p></blockquote><br></div><div>I don't disagree with you either.</div><div><br></div><div>One could argue, however, that your 4-year old has had an entire life of this sort of leadership, especially in the realm of tech. There are those who are so close to the *end* of their professional pursuits, that they don't care to progress, just to maintain until they retire.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm not saying that is right.</div><div><br></div><div>Further, I have to agree that adults shouldn't have to be coddled in that way, or they should be asked to leave at some point. As you now, however, "Bob from shipping" who's been with the company for 20 years and has "had it with that infernal thing" will get the ear of those over IT before IT itself by whining to his golfing buddy in management. This *will* get results, and it won't be the sort of results that are a) beneficial to anyone or b) helpful to IT.</div><div><br></div><div>That's sort of what I was implying by the things that IT has to deal with. They have to deal with things they should NEVER have to deal with to be able to manage an environment in precisely the way you enumerate. Here is where we agree. They will, however, not get that kind of environment until business (and much more so, government...i.e., schools) has a fundamental and significant culture change.</div><div><br></div><div>It's coming. Just... slowly, and not without a few derailments along the way, but it's coming.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>--j</div><div><br></div><br></body></html>