Re: OSS and getting money for it (was: [tlug] Re: Why Vista Sucks)

[Attila Kinali <attila@example.com>]

On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:10:50 +0900
"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com> wrote:

> Attila Kinali writes:
> 
>  > Even in SMBs where this is more pronounced people get treated
>  > like they are exchangable. 
> 
> <boggle />  And why shouldn't they be treated as exchnageable?  They
> *are*.  That's what's great about people: (almost) any person can do
> (almost) any job.  Some people are more skilled and some less so, but
> the labor market is big enough that you can almost always find a
> replacement at equivalent price/performance.
> 
> It's only morally that people aren't exchangeable.

I don't know how much irony is in that mail, but from my
experience in SMB but also to some extend in larger companies,
people have certain knowledge or skills that noone else in
the company/team has which is hard to find because either
people don't usualy have it or it isn't something you normaly
put onto a CV. This might be something as simple as being able
to trouble shoot svn or figuring out why the kernel complains
with this or that error message. Or high skills like knowing
why certain constructs on a chip will fail in 10 years time
if the customer uses it in a submarine enviroment.

Of course, the company will not die if such people are lost.
They can be replaced. But their skills will be lost at least
for some time until the replacement got to the same level
of knowledge and experience.

Even if you find someone with exactly the same skills,
he still has to be trained in how this specific company
does things and hence will be at least a few months
maybe even a year, not at top productivity level.
This los in productivity might cost you a project or
if you have a huge contract penalt even your company.

			Attila Kinali

-- 
Praised are the Fountains of Shelieth, the silver harp of the waters,
But blest in my name forever this stream that stanched my thirst!
                         -- Deed of Morred