Keith Cowan raised 5 points about why corporations aren't addressing
the year 2000 problem. These points are IMO the root cause of the
problems in corporations in general, Y2K or not...
4) Acknowledging the problem has high adverse consequences in the
short term (to budgets, investors/board confidence, careers,
competitiveness...)
No one wants to rock the boat anymore. It is best to follow the
dictates of the more senior manager. Unemployment is a scary concept
and possibility for all managers.
5) It has not yet reached the management fad status (as in "everybody
is doing it" so it is not just my/our problem)
This is the time when people are comfortable risking their reputation.
They can justify their position because others are doing it. By this
time, though, the return is lower than in the early formative stages.
(And with the Y2K problem, time is something we can't afford).
6) Most managers assume they are OK because it has never surfaced (not
realizing that there is no single accountable executive for this
issue)
Most Business managers are not looking that far ahead or barely aware
of problems. When they ask about it they are reassured. Isn't that
what a good manager does? Most IT managers are focused on servicing
the business managers needs for today.
7) Many senior managers are hoping that a "silver bullet" solution
will emerge if they just wait awhile...
It happens so often in the past. Silver Bullets always seem to appear
with our technology. The challenge is... there won't be time to
develop and use the same silver bullet. It's easier to wait, than to
take action or make a decision.
8) The "most" responsible functional management (IT) will likely be
working in another organization before the 3.3 years passes (average
stay is 2.5 yrs)...
The challenge is it is not 3.3 years before the year 2000. It is 2
years until the year 1999. If organizations aren't working on it by
then, they'll be out of action. And if the average stay is 2.5 yrs in
an organization, how will long-term strategies such as learning orgs,
Y2K, Quality... be implemented and continued?
Now the question remains how to get these 5 issues understood and
dealt with in organizations.
Gary Scherling
Helping people help themselves
--GSCHERL@fed.ism.ca (GSCHERL)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>