This article is aka: “Should I stay in the box?”

I have an acquaintance that insists on always “thinking outside of the box” and forging his own path. Normally I would applaud this thinking — as I believe all things are fine… in moderation — but in this case, perhaps not. My friend is a “contrarian“, clearly and consistently going against the grain, making decisions that are contrary to the “norm.” His high risk investments sometimes pay off, but they also come with great risk. In this particular example, my friend is making decisions not for himself, but for his company and its investors and its employees.

Now, don’t get me wrong, my friend has in the past made contrarian decisions with some risk that have been highly successful. Successfully starting a business during the dotcom bust is one risk he’ll proudly expound upon for hours. He has a pretty clear vision (which is probably why he’s been successful, even making risky decisions) and knows how to set goals that are achievable. He also has some personal financing and cohorts that are willing to stake a claim in his ventures (sorry, bub, not me! I’m slightly more risk-adverse than that!) But have his decisions always been right? No, of course not, even he will admit to being wrong occasionally. It’s like pulling teeth, but he will admit it.

So, when is it right to move contrary to the herd? That depends on you. As I stated above, my friend always has a clear vision, and goals. He never starts out on an adventure without knowing where he’s going (at least a general vicinity.) He may not know what he’s going to do once he gets there, but he knows when he’s headed to Disneyland and the route he wants to take. He’ll decide between the Roller Coaster and the Train later.

In particular, my friend and I were discussing monitoring packages, whether he should buy a large commercial package like HP or BMC, or perhaps invest some manpower in Nagios or a derivative like GroundWork. Another thought, outsourcing was deemed “a great alternative but out of the question” due to his own personal objections and business requirements.

The option he chose? To build his own monitoring package. Did you just *shudder*? I did. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons before I tell you why he chose to go the way he did:

Why be a member of the herd?

• Protection from predators.
• Shared benefit: Large or small, everyone gets the same mediocre features
• Buy vs. Build arguments apply — Buy, you don’t have to maintain the software (other than patches.)
• Risk dilution: if you are one of many potential targets, your risk of being attacked is lessened.
• The herd beats down the brambles, leaving a nice clear path to follow; unless you want to run non-stable releases.
• Someone else gets to be the “control animal”, making decisions and taking the blame; it’s always nice to have a fall guy.
• You can’t go wrong with an industry standard answer: “No one has ever been fired for buying IBM.” …Right?

Drawbacks to being a member of the herd:

• You most likely won’t get to decide the evolution of the product you use.
• Common, well known, vulnerabilities leave you open to attack.
• You’re probably not the “control animal”, meaning you don’t get to make the decisions; you’re just another “moo” sound in a cacophony.
• Information Cascade may get the best of you, even counter to your own best interests and gut feeling.
• Risk of contagion, and a limited gene pool for ideas.
• Lemming effect, let’s all rush off a cliff now! - “Yeah!” “great idea!” - “let’s do it!” - “Wait, just a sec guys, hey, stop pushing!” - “Jump! Jump! Jump!” - “Woot!” - “aieeeeeeee!!” *splat*.

Why not be a member of the herd?

• Again, Buy vs. Build arguments apply — Build, you get exactly what you need, when you need it for the cost you can afford.
• If you want to start your own herd, you get to be the “stud”! Assuming you’re studly enough. (ok, bad analogy, but it’s funny!)
• Rather than making the same choice as everyone else, you can make a choice based on the rationale of others; see Game Theory.
• Lemmings are good in butter sauce. (Just kidding, I’ve never had a lemming… in butter sauce.)

Drawbacks to not being a member of the herd:

• You won’t get to leverage a community of users/developers.
• The brambles are already beaten down, where’s the fun in that?
• You get no “control animal” plus you might just get to be the fall guy.

So, what have we learned today? (Jerry watches too much Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, that’s what! Yeah, Yeah, other than that?)

My friend made the decision to build his own solution, because there weren’t any on the market that met his need. His immediate requirement was for a “real time” monitoring solution that could report on the performance of a system in highly mission-critical situations. He actually has experience with multiple platforms, has acted as an integrator in many instances for clients to enhance their environment through custom plugins and modules — so his experience in the field has made him somewhat of an “expert.” He has specific relevant knowledge and experience that can make him successful in this effort.

Was my friend’s decision the right one? We’ll just have to wait and see!

Summarized points to consider if you choose to leave the herd:

• Have specific capability, core to your product and dedicated to its successful completion and maintenance.
• Know of what you speak, you may have to defend your position.
• If you’re going to take the risk and build your own solution, be prepared to support it (long term) and take the hit or kudos for failure or success.
• Remove the emotion from the equation; Make your decision based on the reality of your situation and evaluate all the rationale before making a decision.
• Trust your gut, it’s another data point based on your prior experience and learned behaviors.
• Do not, under any circumstances ignore the herd! If they go mooing off in another direction, check and see why before casting scorn.
• Consider the future — if you put all your eggs in one basket, maybe you should individually wrap ‘em in bubble wrap.
• Consider the cost, nothing’s free — even free software.
• Watch out for the predators, you don’t have eyes in the back of your head, so it never hurts to have a wingman.

If you choose to stay a member of the herd:

• Minimize customization, remember, the more you customize, the further you stray from the safety of the herd.
• Remain critical, the herd isn’t always right. Have an exit strategy or backup plan if the herd suddenly pulls a Lemming on you — don’t jump.
• If you have the wherewithal to pull it off, try to be a control-animal, guiding the herd. Become a strong player ad vocal member in the decision making process. Participate in forums and/or discussions and willingly participate in the safer betas.
• Don’t lose sight of the other herds, packs and solo-players and update your exit strategy accordingly.
• When you can, utilize parallel products. Diversify, where one herd may be wrong, another may be right. Or not.

In all cases, good luck, and best wishes! Remember, you can only make the decision that’s right for you at any given point in time.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 2:02 pm and is filed under IT General, Articles, Opinions, LinkedIn.