The Charge of the Light Brigade
A friend of mine once pointed me to a very nice poem of Alfred Tennyson titled "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
Snippet of the same (from http://eserver.org/poetry/light-brigade.html ...)
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
He said that the poem often reminded him of the way software is developed. About heroes in teams, and too much reliance on them. That they may be good for a while, but the success that they bring is not everlasting, they may not be good leaders and they may lead others to failures. I can't agree more :-).
Only, probably, I would generalize it to the way communities are led, countries are governed etc. One poor decision of a leader that goes unquestioned can have disastrous effects on his followers, the people who trust him. At the end of the day, it is the whole team that matters and blind faith in just a person or two never helps. It is always a we, never an I or a s/he. And to question and understand the rationale is very important.
Snippet of the same (from http://eserver.org/poetry/light-brigade.html ...)
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
He said that the poem often reminded him of the way software is developed. About heroes in teams, and too much reliance on them. That they may be good for a while, but the success that they bring is not everlasting, they may not be good leaders and they may lead others to failures. I can't agree more :-).
Only, probably, I would generalize it to the way communities are led, countries are governed etc. One poor decision of a leader that goes unquestioned can have disastrous effects on his followers, the people who trust him. At the end of the day, it is the whole team that matters and blind faith in just a person or two never helps. It is always a we, never an I or a s/he. And to question and understand the rationale is very important.