In any IS team, roughly 80% of members are parasites. Only 20% actually know what to do — and how to do it. Call them the Body.
Managers are unaware this distinction even exists. They especially can’t identify the Body, because the Body is too busy keeping systems alive to be visible. Parasites, on the other hand, have plenty of time — so they build relationships, attend meetings, and become familiar faces upstairs.
When downsizing comes, the Body gets cut first. Then nothing works. Everyone is technically still there, but things get slower, quality drops, and some things simply never get done at all.
To resolve the crisis, they hire. A lot. The irony: replacing one Body requires roughly 20 people. Four new hires split the work that one person held together — and each of those four attracts their own orbit of four more. The team grows larger and becomes less capable.
This is why it matters enormously to know who your Body is and who your Parasites are. Protect the Body — give them recognition, compensation, and breathing room. And keep the Parasites happy too, because they can occasionally be useful when pointed in the right direction. More importantly: a disgruntled Parasite with free time and social capital will turn on the Body. That is the most dangerous outcome of all.