Yeah, I understand that, but at the same time, backups and security, while being among the two most critical aspects of IT and computer infrastructure at a comp

Yeah, I understand that, but at the same time, backups and security, while being among the two most critical aspects of IT and computer infrastructure at a company, are often the most overlooked by everyone. That persists today and I'm sure it was even more the case back then. If management can't give it the time of day, how can an employee be expected to do so? An executive usually requires a "Come to Jesus" moment like this one, where the entire company teeters on the precipice due to lax backup or security policies, to really have the importance impressed upon him or her. At that point, they are generally much more supportive, though sadly, this too can start to fade if the sysadmins do their job too well. I don't want anyone to come away thinking that most companies have solved these problems. It's definitely not the case, even in large, established companies. Security and backups continue to get little attention until it's too late. We really need to call a celebrity in MBA circles and get that person to run a seminar meant to scare the pants off the execs.