The Needs of The Few

There are different trends in the IT industry, and from my point of view the best way to manage IT is to impose standards and crush those who differ.

Case in point, I was reading that Kraft has initiated a "Bring your own computer" program for its employeees. This devious program states that "everyone works differently. For some, a standard computer or laptop is just the right tool to get their work done. For others, a computer with a little something extra – a different operating system, custom hardware, more memory, etc. – is the best fit for their job." Kraft's new employee initiative "gives you the freedom to choose the right computer for your lifestyle".

I have many issues with Kraft. For one, they produce a way too great variety of their Singles processed cheese product. Regular version, which is the gold standard for making a grilled cheese. There's the thick version, which serves no real purpose since you can use 2 regular slices and achieve the same thickness objective. There's the Swiss version. There's the low-fat version. There's the extra-calcium version. There's even the Omega-3 version. When I pick a pack of Singles at the store, I have to spend at least 45 seconds to identify the item that I want - that is the standard version. Kraft should eliminate all this confusion and keep a single product - in a single format size, that is 24 slices.

Next issue with Kraft: They are paying a way too generous dividend - a 57% payout ratio - this means that the company keeps $0.43 out of every earning dollar and - gulp - gives the rest to shareholders. This financial non-sense has been going on for years, and they've been increasing this dividend for the past 8 fucking years. Holy Mackarel, this ain't no way to build profitable growth, my dear members. My advice to the Big Cheese: cut that out and tell your shareholders to earn money for themselves, Kraft is not a welfare organization.

Next and finally, their new "Bring your own computer" program, which is just a recipe for disaster. Employees will start bringing Macs and Linux boxes, creating a chaos of unprecedented magnitude. Sure, participating employees must comply with company policies regarding software, security and data requirements, but I think this is wrong.

When everyone owns a cheap beige box with 512 MB of RAM, there is a bond that glues all the IT workers, everyone shares the same pain and that common ground fosters teamwork. When one has a larger screen than others, there's envy. When one has an alien technology so different from anyone else, a social breach rips the bond and IT workers cannot relate to one another. This is bad. Worker "A" cannot understand why Worker "B" prefers to use an operating systerm other than Windows XP Professional and that misunderstanding breeds contempt.

It's a well-known fact that companies and governments that favor uniformity over choice of options are the clear winners on the long run. The Soviets had the right approch but their economic system was flawed and profitable growth was not sustainable. Henry Ford was manufacturing cars with only one color option: black. When your staff / population has a dimmed view of what options are available to them, they tend to be happier once you educate them properly.

Like Nimoy once said, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. So to my friends at Kraft, get your act together while there is still time.