This is a common argument for why many projects get bloated, not just JEDI. It has been mentioned as a contributing factor behind tech “over-hiring” in the past few years too.
I think that in large bureaucracies this will always happen. As a manager looking for career growth, the more headcount you get and the more scope you “manage”, the easier it is to make the argument you should be a Director/VP/whatever - or to get hired in your next job as such. Managing 10 people is being a line manager. Managing 50 people is being a director. If you can make the case for hiring more people to support all the initiatives you are working on, you may have just doubled your income.
In a smaller organization, people are usually more directly involved in the organization’s efforts and there is a more limited amount of funding for new things, so the only way you can empire build is by doing something that is very organizationally valuable (like making more money).
In government, academia, and huge corporations, you have massive amounts of money coming in, and most people’s work is far removed from why that money is coming in. Advancement and growth is mostly about being able to secure as much of that money for your department as possible.
I suspect this is part of the reason that dual ic/manager ladder shops outperform management only shops. An IC can grow by delivering impact, over time you can move them around to reshape the org to deliver more impact. A manager is relatively fixed unless you decide to eliminate the department. Likewise, having everyone compete for more headcount doesn't bode well for the future.
I think that in large bureaucracies this will always happen. As a manager looking for career growth, the more headcount you get and the more scope you “manage”, the easier it is to make the argument you should be a Director/VP/whatever - or to get hired in your next job as such. Managing 10 people is being a line manager. Managing 50 people is being a director. If you can make the case for hiring more people to support all the initiatives you are working on, you may have just doubled your income.
In a smaller organization, people are usually more directly involved in the organization’s efforts and there is a more limited amount of funding for new things, so the only way you can empire build is by doing something that is very organizationally valuable (like making more money).
In government, academia, and huge corporations, you have massive amounts of money coming in, and most people’s work is far removed from why that money is coming in. Advancement and growth is mostly about being able to secure as much of that money for your department as possible.