Category Archives: General
From Craft to Capture: NetSuite and the Cloud Software Industry’s Changed Priorities
For decades, the software industry operated on a straightforward premise: a vendor succeeded by building an application that solved a customer’s business problem better than the alternatives. Companies that developed accounting systems, manufacturing controls, or scheduling tools competed on functionality, … Continue reading
Snake Oil with a Certificate
How the Corporate Management Training Industry Looted the Human Potential Movement and Left the Wreckage Behind The Human Potential Movement meant something. That is the first thing to understand, because what followed is only truly damning if you grasp what … Continue reading
Middle Management
Corporate management notices that the monthly output from the Troy plant has been slowly but steadily dropping. The workers must be slacking off. They send in a new plant manager to shake things up and whip those losers into shape. … Continue reading
Management Q&A #1
Dear Bob: What would you say about a consulting project manager who says to a member of his team, “stop talking because what you are saying doesn’t make any sense,” in front of the entire team and the clients on … Continue reading
In The Beginning…Jim McCarthy’s Dynamics of Software Development
The history of software engineering is marked by recurring crises of complexity, cost overruns, and failed deliveries. In response, management philosophies have evolved from rigid, plan-driven models toward more adaptive and human-centered approaches. Jim McCarthy’s Dynamics of Software Development (1995) … Continue reading
The Divine Right of Billionaires
Successful tech CEOs suffer from a toxic combination of unchecked ego, selective expertise, and structural greed that leads them to believe wealth equals wisdom about everything. They’ve succeeded—often through monopoly, exploitation, and luck as much as talent—in one narrow domain, … Continue reading