They wear complexity as a badge of courage. They also believe a lot of their work processes are unique. I once had a client who reveled in being able to maintain 75,000 different SKUs, when all its customers needed was a third of that number. Managers must also take a hard look at how their work adds value to their core business. Companies still do a lot of useless work.
Some processes contribute to a company's distinctiveness.
These processes deserve custom systems and heavy investment. And it's on these processes that managers should put their focus and energies. Much of the rest of what a company does is commodity work, which deserves a commodity system. This should be the focus of ERP lite. Once again, IT is giving us a chance to make work life more efficient and less complex.