You may have read all of this and said to yourself, "I don't want to do all this touchy-feely stuff. Let's just stick Linux on their machines and let them deal with it." (If this seems harsh, be aware that I get e-mails like this all of the time.)

As an IT staffer, it is probably not your job to "handle" employees as described in the previous sections. And you may not feel the need to even try. This is all well and good, actually. If you're not the social type, though, at least recognize that most of the people who work around you are. Very few people like to be pushed around, even if the person doing the pushing is fundamentally trying to do a good thing.

So, what to do? Privately admit your weaknesses in this area and get someone in your department to help you with the interactions and goal-making. This will accomplish the change you think is best for the company and leave you free to concentrate on your strengths.

More and more organizations are moving to Linux and open-source software everyday and there's more reasons than ever to marshall up a proposal to try open-source applications in your organization. Just remember to plan, adapt, and most of all be patient.

Even Linux was not built in a day.

Managing Editor Brian Proffitt, in a time long ago, was once the Configuration Manager for a major real-estate investment trust company in the U.S.

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