The tree that wouldn't bend
We live in a part of the world that's known for its winter weather. Even so, the winters here aren't really as harsh as people say. At least, not usually. This year, temperatures have been lower than normal and we've had some strong winds from time to time, not to mention some especially lovely snow. On one occasion in December of 2008, linear winds did the following to one of the large trees in our back yard:
Other trees came through the storm unscathed. We watched them wave back and forth, flexing in the changing wind patterns. Just enough yin and just enough yang. This tree was a bit stubborn, I guess. It decided to stand firm against the wind. This proved to be a poor choice on the part of the tree.
Too much yang, not enough yin. Bye-bye.
The incident reminded me of another large, stable entity located more-or-less in our back yard. Like a tree, this entity was long-lived. It had a 160+ year history in business. During most of that time it operated in the black, even when competitors were struggling and dropping out of the race. By the turn of the century, though, the entity had become bloated and set in its ways. Management consistently made choices that seemed to be designed to bring the company down. I don't care to mention the name of the company in this venue, but I'll tell you stories sometime over coffee or beer. I predict you'll accuse me of making them up, but I needn't exaggerate.
The chickens came home to roost last year: Early in 2008, the company had to beg investors for a $7 billion-with-a-B cash infusion to stay afloat, despite enjoying the dominant market position across its business footprint. When the financial crisis struck in late 2008, it was the death-blow for the old tree...er, institution. The company has been bought out. It still exists in name; the new owners kept the local branding to go along with the customer base and loan portfolio. You can still see the same signs on the branch offices as before, just as you can still see what's left of the old tree in the back yard. I'm not sure whether any other parts of the carcass were salvageable.
Several years ago, some of the staff in the company's IT department recognized that the lines of business weren't getting much value out of IT services. They set out to find out why, and then to correct whatever problems were identified. Eventually this led to a bottom-up agile software development initiative. Lacking support from IT management, the agile group turned directly to the lines of business. They undertook a number of projects and delivered them successfully. Before long, line of business managers were demanding that their IT requests be carried out using the new approach. IT management didn't like that. No one had consulted them. It wasn't their idea. Not invented here. I'm the boss and I give the orders. Etc. A skunkworks group had gone around them directly to the internal customers, and had out-performed them by a factor of nine, on average. Ouch. After three years of success, the agile group was brought back into the fold of the IT department and dismantled. Who's the boss around here, wise guys? Hah! Just one of a host of poor management decisions both inside and outside the IT area.
Tao is about learning how the universe works by observing nature, and then going with the flow so you won't have your head handed to you on a platter every time you take a step, never comprehending why it keeps happening to you. Maybe it was a taoist who wrote that old advertising slogan, "You can't fool Mother Nature!" The same rule of thumb works for business, software development, and all that jazz, too. It's all part of the same universe.
Too much yang, not enough yin. Bye-bye.
Posted by Dave Nicolette
at 12:47 PM EST
