(2007-06-28) Yegge Marshmallow Maze

Steve Yegge performs some Project Management Story Telling. "Well, word came down from... somewhere... I never quite have figured out where it originated, I suppose, but I have a good guess now. In any event, we got word that we had to eat the Marshmallow-s or there would be trouble of some unspecified sort."... If you set up any organization of saintly do-gooders, with no politics anywhere in sight, then the presence of a single master politician can go unrecognized for long enough for every single sheep to be eaten and replaced with a wolf. At some point the shepherd looks down and perceives that he now has a flock of wolves, and he wonders how it happened... That, I think, is how organizations die. Wolves, wizards, behind-the-throne court counselors, whatever you want to call them or whatever guise they take, they specialize in being invisible to sheep. But wolves need to eat, and when the organization's last sheep is gone, the entity has undergone a complete transformation that will either kill it or change its focus to devouring neighboring flocks. (Culture)