John,
I think you misunderstood me slightly, it is not that they don't get anything done, just the way they expect everyone else to be like them, and take their word as gospel, or else.
Everyone has the right to their way of doing things, but no-one should be judged by the way they do things themselves, be it right or wrong. Criticism, helpful comments, safety, yes, do it my way or else, wrong.
I used to be a machine specialist, looking at the design and suggesting modifications that could be done to increase profitability.
I think my most enjoyable one ever was a New Yorker who set up a factory in the UK. He was OK, the rest of the family run business was staffed by his obnoxious wife and even more dislikeable kids (all three, graduates of some hi flying US universities, and all thought the sun shone out of their you know wheres), old money types, drop her mink fur coat on the floor, and expect everyone to rush in to pick it up for her.
I had been watching this company before they even arrived here. They had made it known that they were on the lookout for 'right people'. So I got in at the very beginning.
Anyway, the father was a down to earth engineer like myself, and we talked the same sort of lingo. He had designed and patented a ribbon making machine and had two of them made in the US to set up production in the UK. They also had a similar factory in New York, but making a different type of ribbon. The machines weren't small, maybe 15ft long by about 8ft wide. They worked OK, but not quite right.
I told him to take one off line, give me 5K squid for development machining, and three months in time. He took a big chance by giving me what I wanted, and he left me alone to get on with my job.
It cost less than 1K squid, and one month offline. I had reduced the wastage costs by 90%, increased the machines production by more than 1000%, and the operators were having a much easier time to keep it running. Basically, load it up and run it to the end of the material.
This problem all came about because he was an engineering graduate, and did everything 'by the book', as that was because he had been told it was the right way to go. I came along, put some lateral and out of the box thinking in and got it to work how it should have done. He was overjoyed with the results, and started to take notice that diplomas mean nothing, without the wherewithall to put it into good practice.
I worked with him for over five enjoyable years, expanding to a new purpose built factory as production was shooting up to a stage where we could hardly cope. We both learned a lot from each other, and all I came away with was a very bad taste in my mouth, and he ended up going back to retirement in his mansion in Connecticut. Both of us had been too involved in the production side, while the management side was being run by the 'family'.
His obnoxious family used the 'new' money from the business to fund their lavish jetset lifestyle. Eventually they bled it dry and it closed down, owing a lot of money to a lot of people. All the machines were sold off to my local scrapyard, and were recycled before I could get in there and save them.
C'est la vie
Bogs
