The obsession with efficiency makes “dilbert-state-like-companies” that takes decisions based on wrong assumptions. Budgets seems like one of the most dangerous tools if you want a sane company – a budget is in most companies the bible that everyone have to obey but like project plans it can mostly be put in the category of wishful thinking that have the extra bonus that management have a hard time seeing the really good ideas that could make the cash counter go ding ding ding!

Dan North gave a marvelous talk at the Øredev conference 2009 about “The obsession with efficiency” with a nice technology twist:

Dan North mentions the BBRT – Beyond Budgeting Roundtable as an alternative to budgeting.

I can really recommend Tom DeMarco’s book ‘Slack: Getting Past Burn-out, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency‘.