 won't get the funding for the resolution. I once went to a customer's site to investigate client/server problems. The customer was an advertising agency that used very large images, and there were complaints that it was taking too long for the 80 MB graphics files to move from the server to the workstations (this was in the late 1990s, when 80 MB graphics files were unheard of). The problem was a result of having too many devices on a network that was based on hubs. I advised the replacement of at least the central hub with a switch. But back then, switches were expensive, and only the largest of companies could afford to make such a change. The management refused to replace anything on the network, and insisted that I look further into the server. They felt that something had to be wrong with the server because that was what they understood. They had no idea how networks operated, and that there were limits to how much traffic they could handle. Why Everything Is Messed Up I gave them a small lesson on networking, and explained why they were having prob- lems. I offered them a guarantee that if the introduction of a switch did not resolve their problems, we would take the switch back at no cost. The switch did solve their immediate problems, and I made a regular customer into a loyal customer. Small companies like that one focus on what they're good at. In this case, the client was good at advertising. They didn't care about computers or networks, but they understood computers because they used them on a daily basis. They had no daily interaction with the networking equipment; it just worked, until it started to become a problem. Truth #5: Sometimes, the problem is simply that no one knows or even cares that there are problems. People in advertising should not need to learn how a switch works. The network is there simply to facilitate the work they need to do. How to Sell Your Ideas to Management You've got a great idea that you believe will change something for the better. Maybe it's the network, or maybe it's