( – promoted by odum)
Today’s Burlington Free Press, front pager entitled “Vermont Looks to Save $30M,” about the search for places to cut state spending. Nice example of creative thinking at work:
Lunderville told the committee the Douglas administration has its own plan for finding efficiencies. Starting this week, 10 “Tiger Teams” from throughout state government and including outside volunteers will search for savings, he said.
Okay, first of all, “Tiger Teams”? Hasn’t Dilbert been making fun of Tiger Teams for about ten years now? What’s next, Six Sigma? Will every state worker get a free copy of Who Moved My Cheese?
Second, if this is such a great strategic move, why not do it earlier? How long, exactly, has Jim Douglas been Governor? And he’s only now thinking of this?
Third, “outside volunteers” would scare me if I were a state worker. Some PHB-type (Dilbert reference again) from the private sector, maybe a Republican operative, is coming to my office to stand over my shoulder and judge my work process? Great.
When push comes to shove, however, I expect that this will turn out to be another lame and impact-free PR tactic. If you can’t give ’em results, at least make it seem like you’re trying.
Hey it is better than RopeRUs.
Governor Barney Fife has finally jumped the shark.Its a clean and clear case of burnout for his PR team .Will Lunderville get a special uniform ,funny hat or a cape perhaps ?
More likely shills for outside contractors looking for opportunities to snag some plums.
The first book I read on Viet Nam was entitled 365 Days by Ronald Glasser, an Army physician who treated Americans casualties in a burn ward at a hospital in Japan. He related the stories told by men he aided. I read 365 Days many years ago, but its haunting vignettes continue to affect me. One segment of the book described “tiger teams”, essentially two soldiers roped together who would crawl out into the bush at night. They would hide there, waiting to kill any unfriendly who happened by.
I certainly don’t fault Jim Douglas or his assistant for choosing this term — if they were ignorant of the grim baggage associated with it. But, by now, they should be aware that term “tiger teams” conjures up something far from benign. Change it!