Re: Information gathering exercise

 > - a good CEO should know that a happy engineer is a productive 
engineer, and the inverse is also true

In my experience, this argument is a disaster with any management that 
does not have a tech/engineering background.  While we all know it is 
true, it comes off as whiny when pitched to most non-technical types.

If you want to successfully pitch the CEO, first you have to understand 
what he/she is worried about. 

Worried about quality?  We have to pare down our test suite because the 
hardware is so slow.  Now bugs are slipping through.

Worried about risking schedules?  Our integration testing takes days on 
this old hardware, and that keeps biting our schedule right in the @!*.

Worried about customer perception?  If the customers knew we were 
developing on such old equipment, they might not think as much of our 
products. 

Worried about productivity?  Our machines keep crashing because they 
don't have enough memory - talk about wasted time/money.  Engineers are 
cheap, you know...

Worried about money?  Failed projects are usually more expensive than 
successful ones.  (see risk, schedules, customer perception, etc).

Bottom line - know your audience and talk to them on their terms.  Plus, 
be ready with the facts (cost, timing, etc) when you get to "yes" so you 
can close the deal.

Good luck...Eric