The problem with going this route is you have to sacrifice personal time for it. Now in your case you taught yourself something new, but that's not always going

The problem with going this route is you have to sacrifice personal time for it. Now in your case you taught yourself something new, but that's not always going to work. I do agree with your assessment that it is much easier to drop a working thing in people's laps and get buy-in than ask for permission. This is also what causes pork barrelling in projects.