Monday, January 12, 2009

Stop Fixing the Blame

For some reason, whenever something fails, our first reaction is figure out who is at fault. We want to know who screwed up so we can yell and scream at them. But if you think about it, this is counterproductive.

Wouldn't it be better to fix the problem? What we should do is:
  1. Figure out why it failed
  2. Fix it
  3. Take the necessary steps to ensure it doesn't fail again.
How does placing blame make anything better? All it does is force you to find fault with one of your workers. In many cases, the worker that gets blamed isn't even really at fault; they simply become a corporate scapegoat. This breeds mistrust, anger and resentment in your workforce which leads directly to low productivity.
Stop fixing the blame. Start fixing the problem.

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