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It sounds like you are conflating “support staff” with “inconsequential” or low-value work. That is definitely not what the author says. By the definitions of
by tobyjsullivan 4y ago
It sounds like you are conflating “support staff” with “inconsequential” or low-value work. That is definitely not what the author says.
By the definitions of the article, the head of engineering at a tech company, or even the CEO, are considered support staff. Their success and failures will 100% map to the success and failures of the company.
- ncmncm 4y agoThe author isn't saying it, but business schools are. The business school mantra is invest in profit centers, nickel-and-dime cost centers. If you are so unfortunate as to be at a company run by an MBA and are in a cost center, woe to you.
- waych 4y agoThe author called out that profit centers and cost centers are similar, but different, to the staff vs line distinction being made. Why equate them as the same here?
- majewsky 4y agoBecause a significant number of managers seem to fall into the same trap, and it only takes one such manager in the chain above you for it to be painful.
- BrandoElFollito 4y agoThis is what happens to Motorola IT. Some wise exec had the vision to outsource it to an external company and then Motorola (that was already on the path to its death) realized how much was done outside of the process (which is typical for such companies, fortunately or not). Suddenly your threat of whatever happening if your thing is not fine had exactly zero value against "raise a ticket". Everything crawled to a stop because of that and "golden tickets" were used. This is one true example of why you should think 20 times before outsourcing something you do not understand.