At one time or another we have all encountered the pain and hurt that goes with second class citizenship. The story of Cinderella and the wicked stepsisters catches our imagination, not because all stepfamilies are dysfunctional, but because it captures the universal human feeling of being left out. Often in our careers we watch others take the coveted prize of a new glamorous project while we are assigned to the maintenance pool. This outcome definitely creates resentment among workers. Then dream meets reality.
Goals are adjusted, budgets cut prematurely, commitments vanish into cyberspace.
Just like the two stepsisters in the story cut their toes and heel to fit into the golden shoe, projects get tweaked and adjusted until blood trickles from the shoe and stains the white stocking of a promising solution. Unfortunately most projects do not pass the hazel bush with the magical pigeons singing. The more fortunate projects have consultants flying in and out like the two pigeons in the story. In the 1980s, manufacturing companies in the United States discovered that the best way to save money was in the prevention of errors. The principles of modern quality management clearly prove that avoidance of difficulties is more cost-effective and beneficial to everyone than fixing and patching later on.