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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Rictor on August 11, 2006, 11:46:28 pm

Title: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: Rictor on August 11, 2006, 11:46:28 pm: http://crookedtimber.org/2006/08/11/powerpoint-corrupts-the-point-absolutely/

Quote
[Army Lt. General David] McKiernan had another, smaller but nagging issue: He couldn’t get Franks to issue clear orders that stated explicitly what he wanted done, how he wanted to do it, and why. Rather, Franks passed along PowerPoint briefing slides that he had shown to Rumsfeld: "It’s quite frustrating the way this works, but the way we do things nowadays is combatant commanders brief their products in PowerPoint up in Washington to OSD and Secretary of Defense…In lieu of an order, or a frag [fragmentary order], or plan, you get a bunch of PowerPoint slides…[T]hat is frustrating, because nobody wants to plan against PowerPoint slides."

(http://examinedlife.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/ppt1s.jpg)

This is awesome. It basically means that the US military is being run by the same clueless beurocrats and middle-managers who are so good at destroying any sort of initiative, efficiency and indeed basic comprehension in private businesses. While other people are out there, y'know, fighting wars and stuff, the US military commanders are substituting all that outdated 20th century crap like "guns" and "battles" with institutionalized techno-fetishism in all its glory. I love it.
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: BS403 on August 11, 2006, 11:51:57 pm: Sweet America's retarded :nervous:
<Bolts>
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 12, 2006, 12:01:32 am: Pretty much all businesses are going this way, too. Welcome to hell, Rictor. Or rather, the real world. :p
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: aldo_14 on August 12, 2006, 06:37:44 am: Don't get me started on ****ing corporate bull****tery........ what the hell does 'leverging your synergies mean'?!

(anyone else thing that chart should have looked like a big bunch of wiggly spaghetti leading to a picture of an explostion?)
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: Goober5000 on August 12, 2006, 12:13:27 pm: I read an article once where someone suggested that when a country turns away from God, God causes its leaders to become supernaturally stupid. I'm starting to agree with it.
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: ZylonBane on August 12, 2006, 01:00:27 pm: I think you'll find more evidence for the opposite case, actually.
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: aldo_14 on August 12, 2006, 01:07:05 pm: Quote from: Goober5000 on August 12, 2006, 12:13:27 pm
I read an article once where someone suggested that when a country turns away from God, God causes its leaders to become supernaturally stupid. I'm starting to agree with it.

I read an article once that indicated there was a strong statistical correlation indicating that the more religious a country was, the more dysfunctional it was*. I'm starting to agree with it.

*the US being the most dysfunctional western 1st world country, of course
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: Ford Prefect on August 12, 2006, 04:16:24 pm: Yeah but you guys seem only about a foot behind us in the race.
Title: Re: How to plan a war with Lt. Dancing Paperclip.
Post by: aldo_14 on August 12, 2006, 05:08:02 pm: Quote from: Ford Prefect on August 12, 2006, 04:16:24 pm
Yeah but you guys seem only about a foot behind us in the race.

Only in government, methinks.