Bright Idea

Today my company rolled out a new idea in how we deliver services. Its actually an old idea, but, well, to us its new, because its been a while since we did this.

Basically, we're taking the current organization, which is composed of multiple groups that each put together a software product, and then funnel it out to subteams that deliver it to the customer, and rearranging it to be fewer groups that support more customers each. The total number of people in the new groups will be less -- by about half, if the people who are into this have their way. The others will be -- well, sidelined, at least till we see how this plays out. (Will they be a target for firing? We're assured not.) I'm not exactly sure what the goal of all of this is. Cost cutting, I think.

There are those who don't think this will work. There are more of these in the worker bee level than in the queen bee level, though perhaps the QBs feel the same way, but, due to the need to be Supportive Team Players, they're stifling their dissent. Either way, a fair number of people don't think it will work. The general take is that you can't get the same product, faster, at the same quality level, with fewer people. You might have some fat in the organization, but this assumes you have on the order of forty or fifty percent. Thats hard to believe. The thought is, we're going to kill some people trying it, and we might kill some customers, too.

But I've got to say, I think its a nifty idea. I don't think it'll work, either, but its a way of blasting through the bloat and bureaucracy that imperils the life of this company. I think that even if it just works half way, it'll be a Good Thing. We're a big, lumbering company (that according to the Sunday New York Times pays its CEO waaaaaaaaaaaay too much); we need to be smaller, faster, more focused. This might do it.

As it happens, I don't think I'll get a chance to play, but if I do, I'll do my dammedest. Because its a terrific gamble, and I'd like to see it succeed.