11 Replies to “Failing up”

1. mojo says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:17 am

   A “Senior Adviser” in the “Office of Human Capital”? No shit?

   That there’s some sweet, sweet fail, baby.

2. Obstreperous Infidel says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:19 am

   It’s the government way. In the county I work (spit), I haven’t quite seen anyone promoted for incompetence. But, when you are demoted, given less responsibility and such, you get to keep your pay. I have seen 4 different Program Managers be demoted to Program Officers, meaning they are no longer managing the program, yet they still kept their pay. I worked for a couple private companies before my present job and had never seen that before. Bizarre.

3. geoffb says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:23 am

   Powell was reportedly the subject of a blistering internal critique that found “inconsistent leadership” under her watch and “a work environment that is often fueled by fear of reprisal and retaliation.”

   She is going to Washington where this “critique” is a major resume enhancement to work in the Obama team. Hell she’s a perfect fit, a clone of the boss.

4. motionview says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:30 am

   I was thinking about this when Jamie Gorelick’s name was floated for some administration post. After leaving a trail of death and destruction through 5 or 6 high level jobs, and being paid extremely well to do so, how could this walking Peter Principle be getting new jobs? How could people who have hired her and gotten so burned be recommending her? And then it occurred to me, these are “50 Rules of Power” government types, who know she is a train wreck but try to get her hired and promoted anyway, in a frantic scurry to prove that while it may have been rotten judgement on their part to hire Gorelick, well, look at all of these other people who hired her! It’s not just me, she even managed to convince X to hire her. And she cruises along like Chance, a simple gardener, with her chain of backers hoping desperately that this time their hiring decision will be justified.

5. John Bradley says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:38 am

   When Powell announced her resignation as federal security director (FSD) to the 1,400 TSA employees at the Newark airport […]

   I was horrified to learn that there are 1400 TSA employees working at a single freaking airport. With salary and benefits, that’s got to be on the order of $100M/yr of parasitism that didn’t even exist (as such) a decade ago. For a single airport.

6. Spiny Norman says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:47 am

   It’s a union shop, Mr Bradley. That’s small change.

7. Crawford says:

   April 22, 2011 at 9:51 am

   Powell was reportedly the subject of a blistering internal critique that found “inconsistent leadership” under her watch and “a work environment that is often fueled by fear of reprisal and retaliation.”

   And note where she’s going: “Office of Human Capital”. It’s like they WANT “a work environment fueled by fear of reprisal and retaliation”.

8. Squid says:

   April 22, 2011 at 10:04 am

   I hate the term “Human Capital.” Absolutely hate it. Personnel is an operating expense, people.

   What’s the depreciation schedule for human capital? Can you take accelerated depreciation on certain tech guys, but standard straight-line depreciation on assembly line workers?

   Seriously, if you’re going to consider me as “capital,” then I want to be paid cash up front, and then you can depreciate me over time. Perhaps you can sell me off to another organization at the end of my contract, and get some salvage value for me.

   As for the original article: I can’t say I’m especially sad that Obama has decided to put the Dragon Lady in charge of HR for the whole agency. Serves the bastards right.

9. John Bradley says:

   April 22, 2011 at 10:08 am

   Didn’t we fight a war over “Human Capital” 150 years ago?

10. Obstreperous Infidel says:

    April 22, 2011 at 10:34 am

    Heh. Well said, squid. But that’s the way government does see people. As automatons. And statists call themselves the ones with “soul”. It’s to laugh…or punch them in the face. Really, it’s a choice.

11. Crawford says:

    April 22, 2011 at 10:50 am

    Didn’t we fight a war over “Human Capital” 150 years ago?

    Yes, and Democrats have been trying to overturn the result ever since.

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