To: Ariella who wrote (5912 ) 9/15/1998 10:32:00 PM From: Michael T Currie Read Replies (1) | Respond to
> How are we actually gonna do what FNTN needs with the incredibly small staff we have?
Hi Ariella. It's a good, fair question. I think it boils down to how your external resources are handled. Obviously, I am speaking from my tunnel vision type of view, but I will illustrate with an example.
When I started in the oil industry, project management consisted of assigning each internal employee his or her own specialised task. This was acceptable because these were the days of high oil prices and companies typically carried a staff capable of performing virtually any job. As you probably aware, oil prices fell dramatically in the mid-80s and have never recovered. In fact, whether you realise it or not, prices are presently at or near 50 year lows at the moment on an inflation adjusted basis. Yet, the efficient companies are as profitable as ever or more so. How? Outsourcing of those specialised tasks. If done correctly (BIG bold letters), the hub and spoke type of operation is an extraordinarily efficient way to work. A small core of internal employees guiding the development and stategy of external staff who are treated not as service mechanoids as in the past, but as partners - usually with financial incentives for superior work.
This is the way my company has chosen to compete in a very difficult price environment. I have personally seen the method save (quite literally) hundreds of millions of dollars. If and when the financials finally are made public, I would hope to find a substantial portion of those shares issued over over the past year have provided compensation to the developers on which FNTN depends and will continue to depend.
Quantum shifts in management technique are foreign to our own experience. That doesn't mean that they are wrong or inadequate. I am also not saying that Sheppard has gotten it right. That remains to be seen. What I am saying is that it can work. Please keep an open mind.
I'll get off my soapbox now. Good night.
Mike
