[…] A big headline in the local newspaper trumpeted the fact that the City is eliminating 19 positions (something their cost-averse editors deeply love). This seems unwise at the best of times, but the city is closing the positions "by attrition", which is the equivalent of using random selection. That’s often a really bad idea. It’s hard to imagine something more demoralizing than the realization that, when you leave, nobody will replace you. As Harold Jarche points out, even targeted job reductions can miss the mark. How often have governments and corporations let key catalysts in their operation go because they looked only at the job description, and not at the person? But this same reasoning also applies to developing the organization. Social network analysis is crucial to understanding what a person actually does, so that when the time to replace the person (in more enlightened places, at least) management will have a good idea what talents and qualities are needed to do the job. Via Harold Jarche. …