Every Friday night, I will highlight an older movie that I think would be perfect for a date night (or even just a relaxing evening at home alone on the couch).

This week, I’m suggesting the movie Big for two main reasons.  The first is that it was just released on Blu-ray this week and the second is that it stars Tom  Hanks who is reprising his role Robert Langdon in Angels and Demons today in theaters.

Big tells the story of Josh Baskin, a kid who makes a wish in front of a fortune-telling machine on the boardwalk of a county fair.  Shockingly, he wakes up the next morning to learn that his wish came true – he was now all grown up and his poor mother, after having an encounter with this grown man in her home, reports him as a missing person.

It’s a great movie filled with a lessons about relationships, work, aging and the importance of keeping laughter and fun in our lives.

Memorable scenes – Tom Hanks playing the giant piano in F.A.O. Schwarz and teaching Elizabeth Perkins to jump on an indoor trampoline.

image: Amazon

Why, even the big dogs (read: companies) still have very “small” IT departments. No, I don’t mean they have little people or even a small number of people — they do have a small-group feeling, though. Having recently switched from a company of a few thousand to one of tens of thousands of people, I’ve learned something very quickly…

Every company out there has to run about the same way. Sure, a publicly traded company has rules and regulations they must follow but when it comes down to the real work, it takes small teams of people to get the jobs done.

Take for example, a recent need — a few switches installed in a data center. These were not production switches but they were being used for development and testing, so they were no laughing matter. Rather than the normal steps:

1. Submit a ticket (with a difficult system)
2. Wait for a reply from the helpdesk (shouldn’t take more than 2 hours for them to type in a ticket)
3. Talk to the person the ticket is assigned to (good luck reaching them by phone, email or telepathy)
4. Go back and forth with IT and the group that needs the switches (because IT likes to feel real important)
5. Order the parts (even though they exist somewhere else in an old storage area)
6. Wait for an outtage window (that isn’t necessary because it’s not production)
7. Have the switches installed and tested (that means, make sure the lights are on)

The way that a good IT department handles it is by skipping steps 3-6. In most organizations, that just saved 2 weeks worth of waiting time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very important to keep track of what everyone is working on. It’s even more important to test things, especially if they might impact something else. But it’s not always necessary for IT to put up a tough image that says, “I am IT and I can put you off and make you wait for my help because you have no option.”

Next time, the finance or HR guy needs a bit of help, keep in mind, you have to give a little to get a little — And sometimes, acting little isn’t always bad either.

Photo credits: clayirving on flickr