Comments on: Good To Great - can you “get the right people on the bus” in a technology department? http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32 An exploration into the multitude of Wastes Of Money, Brains And Time - from the small to the large. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:02:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: bathrooms http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-21177 bathrooms Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:12:20 +0000 http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-21177 Great comment, love the design of the site too. Great comment, love the design of the site too.

]]> By: Jenny http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-14 Jenny Sun, 29 Apr 2007 00:45:54 +0000 http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-14 DBAs don't know what busses are - at least, not the big ones with wheels. DBAs don’t know what busses are - at least, not the big ones with wheels.

]]> By: Tim http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-13 Tim Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:38:18 +0000 http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-13 Not any old DBA - but you don't need big strategic thinkers who are going to lead the organisation - you just need some techies who do reliable accurate work. Actually, now that I'm writing this - maybe it's a different bus and so the idea could work but the kind of people you're looking for is very different. Except that these guys don't get to choose where the bus is going? Not any old DBA - but you don’t need big strategic thinkers who are going to lead the organisation - you just need some techies who do reliable accurate work.
Actually, now that I’m writing this - maybe it’s a different bus and so the idea could work but the kind of people you’re looking for is very different. Except that these guys don’t get to choose where the bus is going?

]]> By: Gerry http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-12 Gerry Sat, 28 Apr 2007 15:49:42 +0000 http://www.nowombats.com/?p=32#comment-12 I've read the book and it does seem to apply only at executive level. The problem I'd see in a technology department is that you typically already have a bunch of people ("team" perhaps) who for better or worse already know your systems and the gotchas. They may not be ideal but you'd lose a bunch of institutional memory if you got rid of them. In the book, the leaders sometimes waited a long time to get the right people together. I guess you could do it if you were patient enough - but you've also got the problem that techies (especially good ones) don't hang around for a long time so you'd also have to have a pretty good environment and rewards to keep them. I’ve read the book and it does seem to apply only at executive level.

The problem I’d see in a technology department is that you typically already have a bunch of people (”team” perhaps) who for better or worse already know your systems and the gotchas. They may not be ideal but you’d lose a bunch of institutional memory if you got rid of them.

In the book, the leaders sometimes waited a long time to get the right people together. I guess you could do it if you were patient enough - but you’ve also got the problem that techies (especially good ones) don’t hang around for a long time so you’d also have to have a pretty good environment and rewards to keep them.

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