@paul_ipv6 posted about #project managers, fanciful #schedules, and his response involving a Magic 8-Ball. It reminded me of a story I've told about one place I worked. I've never told it here.
I was working at a small-to-medium-sized IT/#software company that had a few internal products, but mostly did outsourced R&D work for a behemoth company - one of the largest on the planet at the time.
It was classic #waterfall planning. HugeCo's R&D department would send us a high-level #spec.
We would send it to HugeCo's R&D division. They would immediately #approve it, and send it up the chain of command, because apparently everything had to go all the way up to a Senior Vice-President In Charge Of Things Beginning With The Letter "P" (or some such officer). And HugeCo would #dither, and #committees would be struck, #meetings would be held, #crickets would chirp.