Ohio Information Technology

I’ve seen a political ad running on TV a few times, and it really tickles me on the logic that they are using.   The spot is advertising to pass casino gambling in the State of Ohio.  In the ad they talk about how 37 other states are doing it, so how can they be wrong. Everybody’s doing it.

Over the holiday weekend I was doing some channel surfing and came across an old western.  There came a point in the story where a man, apparently an outsider, was walking down Main Street, when he was spotted by a local, who shouted at him "Hey, your kind is not wanted in this town."  Then he turned to other town folk and yelled, "We don't want him, do we?  Let's show him what we do to outsiders."

At that moment, the townspeople who, up until then, had been going calmly about their business angrily erupted into a loud mob.  They grabbed rocks, picked up clubs, drew guns, and charged toward the unwanted man.  Suddenly amidst the impromptu lynching, the sheriff appeared and saved the day by calling off the crowd, then locking the man up for his own safety.  It all happened in a matter of seconds.  How?  Crowd mentality.

But hey, crowd mentality is not always in the movies.  It happens in everyday real life, too.

A few months ago, right after New York Governor Eliot Spitzer had resigned in disgrace, his scandal was the topic of the day on the Dr. Phil show.  Shortly before, Spitzer had resigned his governorship in a news conference while his dejected-looking wife stood beside him.  The question being discussed was:  Given the gravity of the situation and how he disgraced his wife, should she have accompanied him to the podium?

Robin McGraw, Phil's wife, said she would never accompany Phil under similar circumstances.  To her, the dishonor and disrespect of his actions would cause her to let him take the heat alone.  The audience erupted in thunderous applause.  As a viewer, it sounded like the full audience, or close to it, was agreeing with her. 

This is a tempered, non-violent example of crowd mentality.  An articulate person states a clear, sound position that makes sense, and listeners are persuaded to stand in support.  Regardless of what they may have thought beforehand.

Then there was another viewpoint by Bishop T.D. Jakes, spiritual leader and author, who was a guest on the show. He said this, and I'm paraphrasing:  We're only seeing a small portion of their marriage on camera.  We don't know what their marriage is like without cameras.  She accompanied him for her reasons and we can't pretend to know what those reasons are.  We just have to respect them.  Then there was more thunderous applause from the audience.  This, too, sounded like the full audience applauding.  So how can two opposing viewpoints be supported by the very same people?   The Answer:  that's how crowd mentality works.

It plays on the fact that the large majority of people are followers, waiting for a leader to establish a direction, announce a cause, or express an opinion they can agree with so they can jump on the bandwagon and follow it.  And they'll sway in the breeze, leaping from one viewpoint to the next, if each sounds good enough. 

Sometimes it seems like that’s how IT decisions get made too.   If everybody else is doing information technology outsourcing, then we should too.   There was a saying in information technology years ago that “No one ever got fired for buying IBM”.   Today some could say maybe Microsoft is in that role.  

So is the crowd shaping your IT Strategy or are you?  Sometimes there is safety in numbers and other times there is not.   A good IT strategy consultant can help you decide.   Just because Everybody’s Doing IT is not a good reason.  Could your IT give you a competitive advantage?