Open Source Pioneer Michael Tiemann On the Myth of the Average

StewBeans writes: In a recent article, Michael Tiemann, one of the world's first open source entrepreneurs and VP of Open Source Affairs at Red Hat, highlights an example from the 1950s US Air Force where the "myth of the average resulted in a generation of planes that almost no pilots could reliably fly, and which killed as many as 17 pilots in a single day." He uses this example to argue that IT leaders who think that playing it safe means being as average as possible in order to avoid risks (i.e. "Buy what others are buying. Deploy what others are deploying. Manage what others are managing.") may be making IT procurement and strategy decisions based on flawed data. Instead, Tiemann says that IT leaders should understand elements of differentiation that are most valuable, and then adopt the standards that exploit them. "Don't aim for average: it may not exist. Aim for optimal, and use the power of open source to achieve what uniquely benefits your organization."

Comments

Re:Please Explain

[Anonymous Coward]

Did I miss the part of the story that explains HOW it managed to kill 17 pilots in one day?

... But even Daniels was stunned when he tabulated the actual number.

Zero."

"... at which point he flew into a homicidal rage, killing seventeen of the pilots before he could be subdued and sent to a mental institution."

Re:Please Explain

[PPH]

Did I miss the part of the story that explains HOW it managed to kill 17 pilots in one day?

Software debugging methodology. It killed one pilot and management said to run it again and see if it does the same thing.