> "A VBA macro could do this", I said. It took me about as long to write the program as it would to have just calculated the royalties - it saved no time. However, next quarter it saved weeks of time. And the quarter after. Even the external consultant didn't mind that she wasn't needed for this process; we used the same budget to hire her to do more interesting work instead. And the time it freed up for me? I began producing my own shows. It wasn't a huge station, but there I was, still 22 and producing national radio programs with tens of thousands of listeners - all because I saw an opportunity to write a VBA script.
Inspiring advice and anecdote. The problem is that few organizations have the capacity to pivot like that...that is, the people whose work you've made redundant or easier don't get moved to different duties...because of poor management or initiative on the individual's part. If only more organizations and bureaucracies were able to see created-efficiencies as a way to re-allocate resources, rather than cut costs.
At the radio station where that anecdote was taken from, we were losing money - I could have found myself cut out as an expense.
Yes, it comes down to 'enlightened management' - but it's also economic sensible; if someone is able to save money in one place, they'll probably be able to do the same for other parts of the business, and so are worth keeping around.
I have heard exactly opposite argument. When I automated a process which used to consume hours, vp said this is good but I will prefer to buy a product because inhouse automation creates dependency on individuals. He was right because after hearing this I left within a months.
Years later they are still using my dirty scripts :)
It took me about as long to write the program as it would to have just calculated the royalties - it saved no time.
That's key. The more difficult situation is when it takes more time to write the script than it does to do the darn thing. In that situation when people are strapped for cash and resources, guess which they'll choose if they don't have vision and backbone to endure the short-term pain. In day-to-day operations, people would rather not endure the short-term pain because everything needs to be done yesterday, especially in poorly managed organizations. Of course, the gems will eventually leave the poorly managed organizations too.
Inspiring advice and anecdote. The problem is that few organizations have the capacity to pivot like that...that is, the people whose work you've made redundant or easier don't get moved to different duties...because of poor management or initiative on the individual's part. If only more organizations and bureaucracies were able to see created-efficiencies as a way to re-allocate resources, rather than cut costs.