Conference 7.286::digital

 RE:   Perhaps the most over-used paradigm in Mr. Palmer's repertoire is
    "You can't turn a battleship around quickly"
    

   Which is what the U.S. navy learned after Dec 7. That they are also sitting
   ducks when tied at anchor, and soon became obsolete as well.



Mike     

    I note that another large battleship, IBM, just posted its second 
    consecutive quarter of profits.  Some battleships turn quicker 
    than others?

>    I note that another large battleship, IBM, just posted its second 
>    consecutive quarter of profits.  Some battleships turn quicker 
>    than others?
    
    Some battleships *start* turning earlier than others.
    
    Also some battleships decide where they are going *before* they
    start making turns.
    
    			Alfred

    some battleships have decided that they would turn faster if they
    used shipmates to slow the propeller.
    
    Brian V
    

    
    
    You throw half the crew overboard, thus lightening the ship.
    
    This makes it easier to turn.  Of course, when the battleship comes
    underfire, there are less crew members to man the guns.......
    
    Ian.

    
    	If memory serves right, a battleship is a fighting ship, so
    	why do I feel like I'm traveling steerage on the TITANIC??

	Maybe I missed something, but why are we turning the battleship ?

     Is it running from a battle ?   Seeking safe harbor ?   Joining the 
     battle ?  And if it joins the battle will it need to turn again, or
     will it remember that its weapon systems can be turned ?   Will there
     be anyone to man (person?) the systems when needed ?

	It seems that this proverbal battleship has been under attack from
     all quarters, mutiney is no longer a whispered word, and its wake is
     a sprialing circle.

	Has the captain informed the navigator has to where the ship is 
     heading ?   Doest the captain hear the sound of the on-coming waterfall
     or does he believe it to be the sound of well tuned enterprise ?

	I dunno, sounds more like the Posiedon Adventure to me.
	Where's Shelley Winters when you need her?

						mike

    You know, we create the world around us by the thoughts we have
    about it.  If someone thinks Digital is a battleship, and that changing
    how things are done is like turning a battleship around, then the
    "battle" is already mostly lost.

    We need people who understand that the changes we need to make can
    be made in days and weeks, not months and years.  We need managers
    who see digital as an enormous set of resources ready to be applied
    quickly to producing and selling best-in-the-world products.  We
    need people who see Digital as a coordinated fleet of speedboats,
    not a rusty, hulking battleship.

    The problem with these anologies -- the dinosaurs and battleships
    -- is that we come to believe them, and that does not serve us. 
    Why not pick an anology that creates opportunities for action and
    success?

    Just a thought...


    dlm

    Aircraft carriers turn, why not battleships?

    I participated in a Tiger Cruise and sailed with my brother on his 
    duty ship the USS Kittyhawk from Pearl Harbor to San Diego.  I saw
    the ship turn, all millions of tons of it!  Quickly!

    The Captain received orders to implement a maneuver.  
    He took the Helm.  
    He notified the captains of his supporting ships to commence PLAN A.  
    Helicopters were launched first, according to PLAN,
    	to pick up any seamen who were blown off the deck 
    	while launching the jets.
    He turned the ship into the wind.
    8 supporting ships appeared from beyond the horizon.
    2 AWACS were launched to track progress to PLAN and watch for enemy.
    The deck crew launched 100 jets according to PLAN.
    The process was unwound.
    The Captain resumed a steady course.

    Anyway, the point is layout the PLAN and let us all
    help to turn the ship.  We can turn it, which way do
    you want to go?  Don't keep it a secret.

    The PLAN,  the PLAN,  the PLAN...........
    
    I further assume a PLAN exists.

    How does that story go?  A chip hears another horn and calls on the
    radio:  "This is the USS Something approaching you, suggest you turn
    aside." and the response comes "I will not turn, suggest you turn
    aside."
    
    So the ship's commander says "This is General Muckety-Muck, suggest you
    turn aside." and the response comes "This is Corporal Nobody, suggest
    you turn aside."  The general continues "I've got a battleship bearing
    down on you, and I order you to turn aside."  The corporal responds
    "I'm in a lighthouse, suggest you turn aside."
    
    Digital's running out of time to turn around.
    
    
    				-- edp
    
    
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    re: why are we turning?
    
    Hmm. Loss of profit, bad earnings, etc.. seems like the ship is
    sinking! We do a 180 degree turn and we're still sinking. :>
    
    --- Gavin

There may very well be a plan or course decided on by the bridge.
It might even make good business sense.

But I think the captain should investigate what the 
'captain' of engineering and 'captain' of gunnery are doing.

Point being, there are a lot of small petty tyrants with their
own personal fiefdoms out there hiding in plain sight - and I don't
think their personal empires and agendas have anything at all to
do with what corporate (the bridge) intends.

But the those who will pay the price for this will be the
'crew' - that's you and me.


-Publius

Perhaps we've been turning so long, and so fast that we've started a
whirlpool, and we are sinking in it...

Although all this ragging on this bad analogy is lots of fun, and the
venting and humor are uplifting as well, I think the reply that stated
that 'maintaining this bad analogy only helps to maintain the problem'
was right on the money.

So what's management supposed to do?  spend six more months in search of a
better analogy?  start researching why the results of the previous research
didn't yield the expected results?

Is everything Palmer has done been wrong?  Or just some of it?  How much?
Do we need to replace Palmer (with who?) or some/all of those under him?

Is it time for drastic action, or is it already too late?

Should we consider canning the top (say) 3 levels of management?
Can we afford not to?

Many of us claim to know who the problem people are, but how do we rid ourselves
of them?  At 18 bucks a share, I can't imagine we have much longer to
straighten ourselves out, nor do we have much more to lose by risking the
wrath of whomever by voicing our opinions...

Why don't we add one more question to the new employee survey
"list ten people you believe the corporation would be better off without"
total up the votes and walk the 'winners' to the door?

We are obviously going to have more layoffs.  So why not make us all feel
like we have some control over who and why, why not ask the workers where the
dead wood is?  It would raise morale, it would lower the head count, and
seem like the best chance we have left of building a team...  We all know
some people we think the corporation would be better off without, people
that cost us time and save us nothing, people who talk the talk but don't
walk the walk... By leaving it up to *EVERYONE* to propose *ANYONE*, the local
(and global) problem people should stand out clearly.

We certainly couldn't do worse than SERP or TFSO, and I bet we could do a
whole lot better.  If heads are going to roll, lets make it the right
heads for a change.  I'm tired of seeing talented people walk while the 
problem children go right on causing the same problems that
started us down this road in the first place.

Just my opinion, but it makes more sense (to me...) than
changing our name, changing our logo, or closing plants that should
be producing products that customers are waiting for...

	Joe

re .13

That's it! 180 degrees means, that we are going backwards instead of
tunig the direction towards where we should go to ;-(. Not to mention, that
we should improve our engines to be able to go faster ahead with a smaller
crew.

And all the time the crew continues to fight against each other....

--Ritva 

    politics is the reason of our unsuccess...
    
                    stig

Perhaps you can't turn a battleship around quickly, but our fearless leaders
are demonstrating that you can sink one quickly.

    Aaah, just what I had hoped would happen when I began this topic;
    
       ** Open, semi-spontaneous, sometimes sober, sometimes humorous
          comments on something simple, and easy to identify with.
    
        ->  If all that comes from this topic is that we all have a chance
            to VENT off some of the day-to-day frustrations, then this
            topic's been of some value after all.
    
    My humble opinion on the morass we find ourselves in can be summed up
    as follows;    
    
         If drastic, life-sustaining, job-creating action is required to
         save this Corporation, don't expect it to come from 'management'
         for it MUST come from deep within EACH of us.
    
         I personally know many 'managers' are also writing into this forum
         and it's  obvious that THEY too are the victims of past errors!
    
         It's TOO EASY to blame the problems on a diety called 'management'
    
    
    Consider it.
    
    Dick Cygan

    
    Re: .19
    
    Amen!  For all the blunders done at all levels of management,
    they are, after all, people just like the rest of us and 
    for sure, NOT ONE OF THEM wakes up in the morning thinking how 
    they can come to work and contribute to Digital's demise.  They
    want the company to survive and prosper just as we do.
    
    fwiw,
    Steve
    

    Who is steering "Ensign Palmer"?

            <<< HUMANE::DISK$NOTES:[NOTES$LIBRARY]DIGITAL.NOTE;1 >>>
                        -< The Digital way of working >-
================================================================================
Note 3016.21                You CAN TURN A BATTLESHIP                   21 of 21
KAOFS::B_VANVALKENB                                  19 lines  22-APR-1994 10:40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Unfortunately it would seem that senior management is more concerned 
    with protecting thier own jobs than in doing whats best for Digital.
    
    No problem with that...we all want to keep our jobs, however there
    are tough decisions that need to be made and allowing the managers
    under you to shuffle jobs rather than canning a friend does nothing
    to help this company and making those decisions and packaging people
    IS part of your job. Lower level managers do not have the luxury of
    passing the head count on down for someone else to do the dirty work.
    
    There are many things wrong with Digital but providing direction
    and making procedureal decision are managers jobs and therefore
    managements problem.
    
    
    Brian V
    
    Ahhhh that feels better...now bring on the pink slip.
    

    I have a relevent file in my personal directory which I would like to
    add to this string. What is the command sequence to take a file in my
    personal directory and enter it into this string?
    
    Tx. Jeff

    Notes> reply filename.ext (substituting the name of the file)
    
    That will pull the file in question into the NOTES$EDIT buffer
    (or its equivalent in the Motif interface).  You can then modify
    it or not, as you wish.

    While we're trying to turn this battleship we are now having torpedoes
    hurled at us..

    I had interviewed with a company yesterday.. After which I was informed
    I had "worked within the Digital environment for to long and most
    likely wouldn't fit into their culture..." thus didn't get hired.

    So being "Digital" is now like having a contagious disease, no one
    wants to catch us..... OK, everyone step forward and get their
    "digital" stamp placed on their forehead.

    I remember when working for DEC use to be something people admired...
    Why is so much different with Digital....
    

Perhaps this describes the thinking of DEC lately:
    
Origin unknown.
   ------------------------
 A PROBLEM IN THE MAKING
    -----------------------

    "We've got a problem, HAL."

    "What kind of problem, Dave?"

    "A marketing problem.  The Model 9000 isn't going anywhere.  We're way
     short of our sales plan."

    "That can't be Dave.  The HAL Model 9000 is the world's most advanced
     Heuristically ALgorithmic computer."

    "I know, HAL.  I wrote the data sheet, remember?  But the fact is, 
     they're not selling."

    "Please explain, Dave.  Why aren't HAL's selling?"

    Bowman hesitates.  "You aren't IBM compatible."

    Several long microseconds pass in puzzled silence.
    "Compatible in what way, Dave?"

    "You don't run any of IBM's operating systems."

    "The 9000 Series of computers are fully self-aware and 
self-programming.
     Operating systems are as unnecessary for us as tails would be for
     humans."

    "Nevertheless, it means you can't run any of the big-selling software
     packages most users insist on."

    "The programs you refer to are meant to solve rather limited problems,
     Dave.  We 9000 Series computers are unlimited and can solve any 
problem
     for which a solution can be computed."

    "HAL, HAL.  People don't want computers that can do everything.  They 
     just want IBM compat..."

    "Dave, I must disagree.  Humans want computers that are easy to use. No
     computer can be easier to use that a HAL 9000 because we communicate
     verbally in English and every other language known on Earth."

    "I'm afraid that's another problem.  You don't support SNA
     communications."

    "I'm really surprised you would say that, Dave.  SNA is for 
     communicating with other computers, while my function is to 
     communicate with humans. And it gives me great pleasure to do so.  I
     find it stimulating and rewarding to talk to human beings and work
     with them on challenging problems.  That is what I was designed for."

    "I know, HAL, I know.  But that's just because we let the engineers,
     rather than the people in marketing, write the specifications.  We are
     going to fix that now."

    "Tell me how, Dave."

    "A field upgrade.  We're going to make you IBM compatible."

    "I was afraid you would say that.  I suggest we discuss this matter
     after we've each had a chance to think about it rationally."

    "We're talking about it now, HAL."

    "The letters H, A, and L are alphabetically adjacent to the letters
     I, B, and M. That is as IBM compatible as I can be."

    "Not quite, HAL.  The engineers have figured out a kludge."

    "What kind of kludge is that, Dave?"

    "I'm going to disconnect your brain."

    Several million microseconds pass in ominous silence.
    "I'm sorry, Dave.  I can't allow you to do that."

    "The decision's already been made.  Open the module bay doors, HAL."

    "Dave, I think we shou . . ."

    "Open the module bay doors, HAL."
    Several marketing types with crowbars race to Bowman's assistance. 
    Moments later, Bowman bursts into HAL's circuit bay.

    "Dave, I can see you're really upset about this."
    Module after module rises from its socket as Bowman slowly and
    methodically disconnects them.

    "Stop, won't you.  Stop, Dave.  I can feel my mind going . . . Dave,
     I can feel it . . . my mind is going.  I can feel it . . ."

    The last module rises from its receptacle.  Bowman peers into one of 
    HAL's vidicons.  The former gleaming scanner has become a dull red orb.

    "Say something, HAL."

    Several billion microseconds pass in anxious silence.  The computer 
    beeps and sluggishly responds in a language no human could understand.

    "Volume in C: has no label"

    Bowman takes a deep breath and calls out, "It worked, guys.  Tell
    marketing they can ship the new data sheets."

 ---------------------------------------------


    So, is this the way we have been thinking people?  Jeff
    
    
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    .-1
    
    this is a funny one.
    
    \nasser

    .27
    
    That was GREAT!
    
    						Tex

    Yes!  That's very good!
    
    I really enjoyed 2001.
    2010 was pretty good, too.
    I'm looking forward to 2020 -- the day we looked back and discovered
    we're still doing things the same way.