[hamitron]

I'm part of the team that handles development for an excessively large business unit. Basically they meet up a few days of the week, argue extensively, and pass down the most ridiculous requests for us to complete. Essentially it means that no project ever gets finished, because everything is in constant rotation between back-burner and top priority. Even simple UI improvements have to be run up the chain of mid level executives who feel obligated to provide input. It kills morale, and leaves little room for innovation and actual improvement of our products.

[Someone1234]

That's why "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission" is so key working in that environment.

While you cannot do massive things and get away with it, you can get in a long of small fixes and improvements (which can add up) and just apologize if anyone notices.

If you had to ask permission for every tiny change it may take weeks and the ultimate decision would contain the kitchen sink anyway. Instead just do what has to be done and try not to get caught.

[allendoerfer]

When a customer micro-manages me and does not listen to my advice I usually lose the interest in the project and just finish it to get paid. If I would be employed in such an environment I probably would not care to slip in improvements, because I would feel no sense of ownership in the project.