Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Hey fellas I'm Back...

Engineers:

Good, Fast, Cheap Pick any two .

That speaks to the compromises of design. technology limits you to building with whats available, and cost to develop technology is high and the quality of the result is alway in question. However fast is rarely speed like cars or computers but development time. Sometimes getting there first with less innovative but solid tech is a good path, sometimes not.

Marketing:

Good, Fast, Cheap We balanced the parameters ofthe product and the customers desires and those customers are excited with the result.

More likely they are bored, annoyed with strangely mixed features or they already have three like it. Reality has not ventured there or at best the visit was fleeting.

Sales:

Good, Fast, Cheap Yes sir/maam we have them all.

The boundary of truth and fiction was blurred by marketing but sales would never know it if it hit them in the face. The scary part is they are the consumers interface.

Das gov:

Good, Fast, Cheap We need three bids and through out the low, high, people we don't like and screw around with those that can actually do it. Then we create a set of requirements that border on the absurd and complain about the cost which those requirements have made even more costly. No matter there is an unlimited source of the needed supplies, taxpayers. Besides theres a "police action" in effect.

Foreign gov:

Good, Fast, Cheap we know dollars, send many, send trade.


Big banking:

Good, Fast, Cheap we are never fast or cheap but our stock holders demand good. Good in our case is the only metric known, profit.


Folks, if you aren't a government or a bank your screwed. One hint for the paper shufflers, if you more than 80% financed over all there is a word for that, crash. The next depression is likely to involve a lot of very sorry McMansion owners. Heres another chapter of history to be relived. This time I'm old enough to have seen the depressions of the 70s. Again we watch the stock market and the financial institutions with great interest as those of us that know it are watching all the deregulation and civil rights limiting acts of anarchy that made life so "interesting".


So batten down the hatches, keep your heavy weather gear handy, get you life preserver and pray, the sea is starting to shift.

Eck!

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