I see no point in automating anything if I'm expected to re-write it every year. If they are going to pay me to do that, they might as well just pay someone to do the work manually. It would probably be faster and cheaper than the illusion of time savings we're getting from reimplementing the same solutions year after years against our will.
The best things I've done are the things I've never told management about. I make something, it works, people use it, and I don't have to touch it again for years. When I do, it's a minor change that takes 5 minutes. Anything coming from management is a multi-year project that requires hundreds of hours of meetings and at least 60 devs across a dozen teams... all to make something that 1 person could do in a few weeks if they were left alone and didn't have to conform to their overly complex frameworks.
The best things I've done are the things I've never told management about. I make something, it works, people use it, and I don't have to touch it again for years. When I do, it's a minor change that takes 5 minutes. Anything coming from management is a multi-year project that requires hundreds of hours of meetings and at least 60 devs across a dozen teams... all to make something that 1 person could do in a few weeks if they were left alone and didn't have to conform to their overly complex frameworks.