Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: rbowman Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: The joy of FORTRAN Date: 26 Sep 2024 22:36:05 GMT Lines: 28 Message-ID: References: <5mqdnZuGq4lgwm_7nZ2dnZfqnPSdnZ2d@earthlink.com> <1r0e6u9.1tubjrt1kapeluN%snipeco.2@gmail.com> <87msjvprm3.fsf@localhost> <871q16tied.fsf@localhost> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net gPJ4MQgN4VnGp7Y7qWWiwQBf5uspMG2Xodxs6/OpxdsDlkMtPn Cancel-Lock: sha1:XqA1HomKDjJwRz+i58EOxLuwh9A= sha256:sbQUgCznQqJLtrT06VIX96/zH+nbM75bNs3btQKlpO0= User-Agent: Pan/0.149 (Bellevue; 4c157ba) Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:58510 alt.folklore.computers:227052 On Thu, 26 Sep 2024 20:48:02 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: > On Thu, 26 Sep 2024 07:49:14 -1000, Lynn Wheeler wrote: > >> ... and perhaps most damaging, the old culture under Watson Snr and Jr >> of free and vigorous debate was replaced with *SYNCOPHANCY* and *MAKE >> NO WAVES* under Opel and Akers. > > That happens to every company: a small, hungry, quick-moving, > risk-taking startup grows large and successful, and becomes > conservative, slow-moving and risk-averse. > > Microsoft is an interesting example: Bill Gates had read all the books > on the above, and during the 1990s he was able to negotiate a balance in > which Microsoft stayed hungry and kept the startup mindset even as it > became large and successful. After he stood aside, the predictable > pattern followed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_Excellence That was required reading in the '80s and the company I worked for even had a mandatory presentation by 'experts'. The authors used exemplars of successful businesses and their culture -- many of which were soon to fail. In the '70s it was 'matrix management' with DEC and TI pointed to as the way to go. At least TI survived.