James McGovern asks about IT enterprisey types, and what people like me would do:

The comforts of a corporate job cannot be underrated. The benefits are there for a reason - to entice smart and productive people like you to stay and help the company generate more profits. Why do you think that crack dealers give young kids free samples? Don't get it twisted as I am not saying that IT executives are akin to crack dealers, but you have to admit that their means of persuasion are remarkably similar...

I wonder folks such as Chris Petrilli, James Robertson, and other entrepenueral types could help provide guidance on how to detox ourselves? I wonder if they were ever enterprisey folks themselves at one time but simply don't want to admit to it?

Well, I've never been in that position, or even close. I was a line developer for a few years, and then a trainer/consultant for a few more. After that I went into technical sales, and now I'm a product manager.

One thing I noticed during my time as a consultant is the "external halo effect" - it was frequently the case that internal developers at a shop I'd visit would know what was wrong, and how to fix it - but none of the management or architects/IT standards types would listen to them. In I'd come, with far less expertise on the problem at hand, but with the "external vendor expert" stamp. The amazing this was, I'd say the same thing that the internal guys did, and get listened to!

I've spoken to plenty of other people who are (or have been) in similar situations, and they report the same thing. So what advice would I give McGovern (et. al.)? Pay a lot more attention to your development staff. Stop listening to industry analysts as a first and only source of wisdom (which is not to say they don't have any - it's to say that you may well find the same thing for free in your own shop).