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> When something goes wrong in an organization, the first question that is often posed is, “Whose fault is it?” Pro tip: If you have a manager who acts like th
by BeetleB 4y ago
> When something goes wrong in an organization, the first question that is often posed is, “Whose fault is it?”
Pro tip: If you have a manager who acts like this, or even worse, an org, then it is best to find a better work environment. Having said that, these scenarios tend to be in the minority.
One of my best jobs had the department head say to his staff when things go wrong: "I don't want to hear X screwed up. I want to hear why we allowed X to screw up". Why could a junior employee make a change that affects the whole org? What systems are not in place to prevent this? Etc.
- markrages 4y agoThis is how layers of process accrete around an organization, each to address a previous screwup. Until nothing gets done at all, except fulfilling the requirements of the process. There is a tradeoff between frequency and severity of screwups and rate of progress. This tradeoff should be made deliberately; just going from "screwups always bad" will not reach the best balance for the health of the organization.
- jimbokun 4y agoAdding more layers of process is not how you prevent the same kind of screw up from occurring. A better approach is to automate the process in a way that the manual mistake is no longer possible.