Today was a big news day for me. First of all, my former boss Chuck Prince resigned from Citi. Last year, when Robert Druskin was brought in the bank to create a "cost cutting" program, we referred to our unfortunate colleagues who lost their jobs as being "Druskined." The truth is, as Prince will admit, the bank just is too big and has too many layers. Citi wants to service clients and be innovative but they are too slow to market because there are just too many people who have to sign a piece of paper.
For example if nycbabylon was a Citi site, I would have to have at least 10 signatures each time I wanted to add a blog entry. And, those 10 signatures would require days of negotiation since every stakeholder would have his or her opinion which I would have to debate and defend my own choices. Plus, I'd have to have the entire negotiation in writing and with screenshots to show how choices were made so that I wouldn't get nailed during the quarterly audit. So, by the time I'd want to comment on the new Spice Girls album, Posh would already be in her grave. This sounds ridiculous, but this is a problem, especially for marketers where customer's needs are in constant change in today's rapidly changing world. I saw a lot of talented people with great ideas take their talent elsewhere simply because they were spending more time walking around with a piece of paper than being able to do their actually work.
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