Speed Bumps

I work in the federal government. As such I am forced to deal with large organizations. I am still adjusting to the fact that if 10 people look at a flat tire they call is what it is… flat. In the government 10 people can look at the same flat tire and before the problem is clearly stated (its flat) a committee is formed to determine what flat looks like. Then another team is developed to see if the air on top can be cycled to the bottom in an effort to not only address the apparent flat but also to “save” resources used to solve the “apparent flat”

I call these people speed bumps. They have built their entire career on memorizing the fine print in the rule or regulation that is guaranteed to bring the process to a screeching halt. They base there significance on their ability to tell the team staring at the “flat tire” that the term flat does not mean deflated but in-fact means a temporary place to live.

These are folks that could not work in industry because they do not understand the production line MUST run in order to make money. They could not work in academia because they can not think outside their box. They are masters of quoting the book but they do not have the motivation or imagination needed to write the book.

It is unfortunate the government does not have to “make money” because if business ran like governments there would be no business. So I am forced to deal with the speed bumps and the tax payers loose because the speed bumps are forcing the movers and shakers in government to conform to the do not produce mentality.