A VC« Rhapsody Web Services Contest | Main | Progressive Realism »
The "Showerhead" Metaphor
My friend Andy wrote a post last week that I just got around to reading. It struck a chord in me and many others (its gotten 27 comments so far).
It's about one of the showers in his gym, but it's really about life. Here's the crux of the story.
Instead of fixing the other 7 showers, and bringing them up to par with the best shower --- and making all the showers WORK AS WELL AS THE BEST, or #1 shower.....someone decided to......
"IMPAIR THE SHOWERHEAD OF THE BEST SHOWER, THUS BRINGING MY FAVORITE SHOWER, DOWN TO THE WORKING LEVEL OF THE OTHER 7 SHOWERHEADS."
From now on, when I see this kind of behavior, and we all see it everyday, I am going to shake my head and say, "it's the showerhead thing again". Nicely done Andy.
Comments (5) | Posted July 16, 2006 in Venture Capital and Technology
Comments
Why just shake your head, why not do something about it?
Posted by: P. Roales | Jul 16, 2006 10:55:12 AM
Ah the old 'race to the bottom' mentality - cheaper and quicker to break something than to fix something.
Shameful...
Namaste
Al
Posted by: City Hippy | Jul 16, 2006 3:35:38 PM
Reminds me of the Rush song "The Trees"
Now there's no more oak oppression, for they passed a noble law. And the trees are all kept equal with hatchet, axe, and saw. ...
Posted by: angela coors | Jul 16, 2006 4:58:28 PM
It's the HR connotation that rings true - I know some people who work in larger companies that should start referring to their manager as "Dr. Showerhead"..:)
Posted by: Chris Hamoen | Jul 17, 2006 2:54:53 PM
I have seen this many times before and its always the same story. The reality is that in most cases there is "exception" to the rule that would create a problem elsewhere - lowering total showers to 5 - cutting funding from new machines - providing defribulators instead of expensive plumbing repairs. The problem is not always the end reult but the "why" the end result happened. Knowing the full story can sometimes ease the alarm of what happened. I guess this comment is about the importance of transparency and thinking through a line item on a weekly agenda down the very person it will affect.
Imagine if they promised an upgrade on a certain date? Or spent the money in a better place? Knowing or disclosing the full story can fix the plumbing whenever you have a shower problem.
Posted by: Eric | Jul 17, 2006 3:00:58 PM
Main RSS Feed of All Posts
VC and Technology Posts Only
