I used to work at a company as internal tech consultant. When asked several years ago about how to build the intranet (specifically, how to publish content written by the staff) I prepared a document explaining the trend from a central-managed CMS to a more network-like everybody-writable repository (aka, a Wiki).

After explaining my boss the options, he dismissed too easily the wiki option. I felt that I was not transmitting effectively my information, because I really felt a wiki was the way to go. So, I insisted. And I was refused again. So I asked if I was really explaining well the thing or why a wiki was not a good idea.

His answer: "because we cannot manage that much freedom". "How will we control what is published". "How will we restrict the content".

Well, I think I was really not transmitting the message quite right. My idea was precisely to reduce the management burden and to empower the staff. It took me a couple of minutes to understand that I prepared a technological report without taking care of the point of view of the management people. Traditional management is about control, they don't know how to handle freedom; obviously they don't know how to use it to make money either.

So, six years later, they still have a centrally-managed CMS, with little staff-produced content. All the knowledge of the people who have worked there is gone when they leave. I didn't try again to bring the wiki idea again, because the environment was becoming "less open" than before. Eventually I left the company. I tried to document all my ideas for the company. But they are sitting there, somewhere in a forgotten disk in a forgotten server. I couldn't publish them in the intranet because we didn't have a wiki.

What a waste. What lack of vision.

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