Posted on 03/06/2005 7:51:17 AM PST by HolgerDansk
I snuck out of Hungary in 1973, one week after I was told that if I ever wanted to advance as an engineer, I would have to join the Communist Party.
Being a good party member was far more important than your skill level, and so my boss was a man who had been a pig farmer. After decades spent raising hogs, he suddenly was supervising dozens of machinists, most of whom had engineering degrees and had built bridges and buildings until we were reassigned to "practical and useful" work -- making parts for factory machines.
Working for Carly Fiorina reminded me of my days working for that farmer. I remember the first time she walked into the Hewlett-Packard labs. She said that our new company slogan was "Invent." Then she told us that the technology industry would never again be as exciting and profitable as it was in the '90s. That we'd all need to grow up now and face that fact. [snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at technologyreview.com ...
Until now.
The Clinton Administration killed off the bulk of government technology research funding ("corporate welfare", don'tcha know), while the current generation of Harvard MBAs views research as a double negative -- unpredictable and long-term. Since research is a 3-5 year pipeline at a minimum, nobody noticed at first. Well, the pipeline is now empty, which is a big reason we're losing the computing industry to overseas competitors.
Ping
DEC those were the good old days....
Research is always a gamble. Sometimes it pays, sometimes it doesn't, and when it doesn't, companies often die a quick death.
Sounds just like the career path for media reporters. Join the Democrats or go nowhere in your career.
Thanks for posting.
Now Fiorina's on the short list of people considered to head the World Bank. It looks like time to make some long term investments in gold, guns and groceries.
This article is so true of many companies, no matter what industry they're in. They forget what made them successful in the first place. Innovative products has been replaced with innovative marketing and packaging.
There's nothing wrong with making a buck, but make money NOW with little or no future vision is not sustainable.
My guess is that in a hundred thousand or so garages around this country, another Bill Gates or Paul Allen or Steve Jobs is puttering around with something. The question isn't, "Will it happen?"....but rather, "What will be the affects when it does happen?"
True; however, it's part of maintaining a technology company. Hoping that your tech company won't need research is the strategic equivalent of holding your breath underwater in the hopes of evolving gills.
One can see this a lot in the video game world, where the suits will say "release the game next month, or lay off half your staff". End result: a game that sucks. This happened with a company called Ion Storm who closed its doors last month because their top two franchises, Deus Ex 2 and Thief: Deadly Shadows, were released *way* before they were ready. The fans weren't pleased, to say the least.
It won't happen without the other half of the equation, namely money. With VCs distracted by the prospects of overseas investing (China) and the easy money to be made by funding outsourcing efforts, it's a real challenge right now. And, VCs don't fund research.
Shades of another "successful failure" by the name of Robert McNamara.
And the competition's patent lawyers. I believe its common practice for a "so-called" tech partner with deep pockets to build a fence of patents around the original patent, thus restricting the original inventor. I saw it happen by big Asian companies--ba$tards!
Where are the risk-takers, the innovators, the can-doers? They've been replaced by PC-pushers, the group-thinkers, government handouts, and those who keep saying America's best days are behind us.
To prevent duplication, please do not alter the heading. Thanks.
Great article. I never thought about the R&D part. I bought a HP Pavillion pc back in 2001. Worst pile of junk I've ever owned. 6 hard drives had to be replaced within a 2 year period. An HP for pete's sake. Term papers were lost :( I bought an eMachine this time.
The love of money is the root of all evil...
I have only had one female supervisor who did a good job, (she was very good btw), and I have noticed that women too seem to prefer a male supervisor.
The sexes are not all good at the same thing. Women do some things better and men other things. Management is one of them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.