Management: A Flaw of Information Technology Outfits

March 7, 2022

I read “Enterprise IT Finds Itself in a War Zone – With No Script. This is an interesting essay.

One passage about “management” and “leaders” struck me as on the money. Here it is:

the lack of leadership is the most pressing. That’s not the sector’s fault: effective embargoes need coherent and unambiguous  governmental and regulatory guidance, neither of which are visible.

The context is the turmoil roiling established business processes. When outfits like McKinsey & Co. of opioid fame pull out, something is up. I don’t think it is leadership. Management wants to avoid more problems.

For large technology companies run by confident wizardly individuals, the statement in the cited article cannot be dismissed. The essay, I believe, is accurate.  After all, if one commands billions of dollars and bytes, the political turmoil is not “our” problem.

The failure of management in the information technology sector is what Henry James’ wordy bother said. Each person has a “certain blindness.” I think this means that the companies struggling to respond to the “troubles” are unable to perceive what other see clearly.

With information technology becoming the lubricant for business, a lack of leadership suggests that the digital supercars racing down the information super highway have a higher probability of spinning out of control.

I would suggest the script is a variation of “Fast and Furious.” Just a terrible rewrite with a less happy ending.

Stephen E Arnold, March 7, 2022

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