The Minister, the Entrepreneur and the Civil Servant: a cautionary tale

Just read this article and, like the author, I've seen this happen enough to feel it's a pattern worth recording. I can't say I've been dealing with mp's but I find the same happens when you deal with managers who are just plain busy and rely on their staff to actually get the job done. You either get lucky and the allocated staff help you out or they don't. If you get that wrong and the manager isn't 100% behind you then you're stuck.