Follow The Money

I read this quote in a completely non-software context last week, and it’s been rattling around in my brain ever since for its implications in numerous disciplines:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

I’ve had experiences where I’ve been trying to explain the benefits of automation to people whose job descriptions include large amounts of manual work. Or more significantly, managers whose bonuses are directly tied to the profit they can bring in via labor hours billed to the customer. Needless to say those explanations fell on deaf ears.

That’s just one example. I’m certain there are more.