-----Original Message----- From: Hallam-Baker, Phillip [mailto:pbaker@xxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 4:57 PM To: Sandy Wills; ietf Subject: RE: NOMCOM term limits... Re: Now there seems to belackofcommunicaiton here... <SNIP> Cars became more reliable because consumers insisted on it and established organizations that were designed to give them a voice. If the mechanics had got their way cars would probably still require a major service every 2,500 miles. </SNIP> Then you're dealing with the wrong mechanics. Mine has an interest in making sure my car runs as well as it can as long as I can. (If I buy a new one, the only service done the first few years is under warranty at the dealer, and he loses the regular-maintenance business he now gets.) I just have to find the mechanic who understands that interest, and patronize him (and yes, you can make a Ford Escort last 16 years and 250,000 miles with the right mechanic). The analogy is getting somewhat strained. The point is that constant assertions along the lines of "the engineers only want a toy to play with; they'll keep tweaking it and never produce anything useful" are all too common. At one of my former employers, a common slogan among management was "at some point, you have to shoot the engineers and deliver the product". It argues for managers who aren't engineers; after all, it's better to have somebody in charge who isn't so closely wedded to the design. It doesn't have to be that way. It just takes engineers - like mechanics in the above example - who understand that a deployed product is better for their career than a toy they putter around with. We would do well to remember that. Al Arsenault _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf