Wednesday, April 6, 2011
C.Y.A.
During the morning commute, I listened to the Planet Money podcast about credit card agreements. The hosts trot out a couple lawyers to talk about why they are as long as they are, how they can be made better, etc. In one specific instance one of the lawyers mentions a question in a government form:
"Are you a terrorist?"
Of course that's a stupid question. Pieces like this tend to ignore the sociological dynamic that creates bloated agreements, reports and redundant (and sometimes stupid) questions.
It is very, very difficult for an organization to do anything less than everything they've done in the past, plus a little more. Passive aggressive carries the day in corporate America, and passive aggressive means you never take away from any defensive maneuver, you only add to it.
I spent several years fighting this, then resigned to it, and now I find myself adding in those silly, redundant elements because I know they'll be asked for later in the game anyway.
Labels: Can I get that in triplicate?
¶ 6:04 AM
