I can't believe what I am reading here.  What kind of spitting match is
this.  
If a person admits the fact that he/she is not a guru or even has limited
experience in a certain area it sounds like your ready to lynch them.  

> 
> Eric Johnson wrote:
        For example, If you sold yourself to me as a security expert, I
hired you, and you showed up for the first day of work with a copy of
"Firewalls for Dummies", you'd be out of there!  And yes, I'd seriously
consider civil charges for misrepresentation.  

I don't know what world your from, but from my 15 years of experience
dealing with military and federal agencies, I know that more than 50% of the
time I'm hired to accomplish a task, the client usually comes back to me
with requests that I don't have much experience with.  They either don't
have the funds to hire a "expert" in the field (of which I find the so
called experts are usually below my limited level) or they specifically want
myself or another member of my team due to their comfortablility level with
the personnel.  I highly doubt anyone would walk in with a "firewall for
dummies" book after accepting such a highly skilled task.  As for the
reasons why the customers want a certain person to work on a particular
project, whether or not he/she has the proper experience is NOT for you nor
I to decide.  As for civil charges, good luck.  I think you need a reality
check when you slam someone who is asking a serious question and your focus
is on their skill sets.  I think ego may play a big role in this don't you?

Richard Drennan
Systems Engineer
NAVEODTECHDIV


-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Capelli [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 1999 1:44 PM
To: 'Eric'
Cc: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: RE: marketing hype


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eric [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, May 06, 1999 1:39 AM
> To: Peter Capelli
> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: marketing hype
> 
> 
> Peter Capelli wrote:
> > I think that you are doing your clients a grave disservice by making
> > recommendations about products and technologies with which you have
> > limited experience.  Your best bet is to refer your clients 
> to another
> > firm that knows what they are doing.  Best case, this is 
> bad judgement.
> > Worst case, outright fraud.
> 
> Nonsense.  The only way fraud would come into the picture if he made
> bogus representations to the clients that were untrue.  There is no
> indication that he has done so.

Bogus representations like, say, that he (or she) was a security expert?
He was asked to be a security expert.  He said that he wasn't, but he
would take his clients money to make a recommendation.  If I pay for a
security expert (or any other expert) to come in and help me, they
better know something about security!

> 
> As far as bad judgement?  Only if it is clear that he is not up to the
> task.  And that does not appear to be the case.

In the original message, he said he had no experience except that of fw
installation.

> 
> Have you ever been a consultant?  I was one for several years.  One
> of the more interesting parts of the job was that I was constantly
> called on to do things that I had never done before.  I learned a
> hell of a lot keeping up with the demands of the job -- far more than
> if I'd sat back and refused to try to extend myself.  The customers
> came out ahead, too, and they appreciated it.  

        This is true in a limited sense.  You would not have been hired
if you didn't know what you were doing.  You need a base set of
knowledge to do the job.  As new requirements come up, new technologies
and techniques must be learned, I admit.  But not on the customers
clock!  You, when you were a consultant, should have been constantly
keeping up with new trends and technologies *on your own time*.  That's
why people pay you!  No ramp up time to learn new things, with no real
world experience to back it up.  Now obviously, you can't know
*everything*, so of course some learning goes on at the customer site.
But not all!

        For example, If you sold yourself to me as a security expert, I
hired you, and you showed up for the first day of work with a copy of
"Firewalls for Dummies", you'd be out of there!  And yes, I'd seriously
consider civil charges for misrepresentation.  

> 
> Eric Johnson
> 


Pete Capelli - NSEC - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety" - Benjamin Franklin, 1759
PGP Key ID:3AD72805
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