[ Originally a Facebook post, copied here for posterity. ]
Some thirty years ago I was told the story of a server with an oil lamp on the side (the kind that Greek Orthodox people light to honor God and the Saints). It was put there to humor the situation: the server need not break under any circumstance.
Well, it has been my experience of many years, sectors and shops of different sizes, that no matter what, there is always at least one key system that “needs” an oil lamp by its side in the organization. A system that is critical enough to warrant all the attention it gets, yet so critical that nobody risks upgrading / changing / phasing it out during their tenure (the system is guaranteed to outlive them; I count three such systems that have outlived me). Untouchable systems that get replaced only when they physically die.
Seek out who needs an oil lamp. Plan accordingly.
[ There’s another “law” that follows as a result of the oil-lamp, but maybe for another time. ]
Managing organized complexity 