so right, they reorganized, they suffled, but they did get by. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Deri James [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, February 05, 2001 6:34 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: You may like this


On Sunday 04 February 2001  2:30 am, Barber, Kenneth L. wrote:
> 5. Don't be irreplaceable; if you can't be replaced, you can't be
> promoted.
>
>
> i was actually told this by my boss in a prior job. so i quit. i
understand
> that i was not unreplaceable, but, it turned out not to be easy.
amazingly,
> they could have given me a extra grade without actually having to do much
> other than sign his name and i'd have stayed.

When I worked for the government back in the early 80s I (and my team)
designed and implemented what was then the largest statistical database in
the Public Sector. Mrs Thatcher wanted it for Rate Capping the Local
Authorities. When I left they replaced me with 3 highly paid Andersen
Consulting (Androids) Consultants who couldn't get it to work, got a whole
team of consultants in (cost close to £2,000,000) to rewrite system from
scratch. 2 and a half years later project was scrapped - they still hadn't
got one graph/table working to the agreement of everyone. I heard on the
radio "Today in Parliament" about 3 years after I'd left a Member ask the
Minister why the Department was using 3yr old figures to calculate Rate
Capping figures. The Ministers answer "It has proved too expensive on the
Public Purse to continue publishing these figures."

See, noone is indispensible, they just change the goal posts!!!

Cheers

Deri