Managers VS. Engineers
A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost.
He reduces
height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon
further and
shouts,
"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I
would meet him half an
hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The man below
says, "Yes. You are
in
a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this
field. You are
between 40 and 42 degrees North latitude, and between 58 and 60
degrees West
longitude." "You must be an engineer," says
the balloonist. "I am," replies
the man, "How did you know?" "Well,"
says the balloonist, "everything you
have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to
make of your
information, and the fact is I am still lost." The man
below says, "You
must
be a manager." "I am," replies the
balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," says the man, "You don't know where you
are, or where you are going.
You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and
you expect
me
to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact
same position you
were in before we met, but now it is somehow my fault."