War and Peace and IT

9	Planning and Reporting

Both were perplexed about what they had done and what they were to do. “Am I taken prisoner, or have I taken him prisoner?” each of them thought.

—Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Once the decision has been made, close your ear even to the best counterargument: sign of a strong character. Thus an occasional will to stupidity.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, Epigrams and Interludes

In Chapter 4 I suggested that IT spending cannot be considered in isolation; it affects other budget categories and depends on an organization’s strategic intentions. A marginal dollar spent on IT might result in more than a marginal dollar of revenue in one business unit or cost reduction in another. Dollars spent in IT might also have consequences for ...