So what about the folks on the other side of the wire from you, the CIO, and your loyal army of IT staff? How do they feel about all this stuff that we are talking about all the time, all the standards, and security, and vendors and platforms? What do they think about your decision to standardize on Microsoft because of their better systems management and global application support? What about the mandate that all development efforts will be spearheaded by corporate IT, despite the three-year backlog?

Well, obviously, most of them hate you with a fiery passion, right? Isn't that part of the job? But what are they gonna do about it, right?

For their edification and ammunition, Paul Murphy has posted a guide to leading a revolt against the corporate IT department. And it's not a bad one, if you read it. You've probably run into users running these tactics against you before, if you've been in the business for very long at all.

My question is, why do we make it that way? Why can't we be the resources, the "guru" that our users turn to in times of IT trouble, rather than an authority to be subverted?

The predictable answer is that we have to deal with complications that they aren't accountable for and can't be adequately made aware of. But I suspect the rest of it may be exactly what Murphy insinuates it is-hidebound, timid, and excessively enamored of industry trends and the will of the crowd.