Other Clients from Hell

[Scottie Lover <iluvscotties -at- mindspring -dot- com>]

I once worked for a major department store which was the victim of a 
hostile takeover
(read VERY hostile; this was a Jewish company taken over by 
anti-Semites).  The new owners wanted to have the company publicly traded, 
and then sell it for a hefty profit. Accordingly, their only goals were 
VERY short-term.

Apart from the quality of employees hired because of their race and 
religion, these people were promised *HUGE* bonuses if they delivered 
certain systems by specific dates.  Never mind if it crashed the following 
morning -- all that was needed was delivery by a certain time.  Developers 
were specifically told that "We don't have time to test", and it was made 
abundantly clear that the only goal was that of implementing certain 
systems by a given date.

Most of these developers were consultants.  There was one tech writer, a 
very nice, bright guy fresh out of college who knew nothing about computers 
and had never written anything before.

Just in case I ever again find myself in this situation, what would you do 
if you were
a consultant specifically directed to do things you knew were totally 
wrong?  In other words, would you knowingly sabotage a system just to 
ensure that your boss would get his humungous bonus?  Would you 
leave?  Would you insist upon some modicum of professionalism?

Thank you for any help you can provide.



"Scottie"
(The Scottish Terrier Lover)