Americans have always believed that once we recognize a problem, we have pretty much solved it. That is why, in so many professions, it is better to start a project and get promoted to another one when your project is halfway through, than to be the guy who picks up the pieces of the shoddy work.
I remember when working as a civilian for the DOD on a project to computerize and modernize logistics procedures, how the entire team, including yours truly, got promoted to better jobs before the project was finished. Suddenly, armor and infantry units stopped receiving their food and the current guys in charge of the program didn't know why. I was offered another promotion to come back and fix the problem (I think I was the third of fourth guy they asked, so I didn't feel all that special) and I turned it down. My boss at the time offered to make me available for consultation, which was a pain in the butt, but it was not the same as being in charge of a disaster. BTW, I couldn't fix it anyway, because my part of the program, and several other parts, were working fine. And I didn't know nothing about birthing no babies in the other parts. |
