- Suppression of news.‘Don’t tell them about how well we’re
doing. They’ll only ask for more money.’ - A belief in mystical forces.‘I just feelin my bones we must do
this thing.’
WHY THINGS GO WRONG – A SUMMARY
The main reasons for things going wrong are:
■ inability to learn from mistakes;
■ sheer incompetence through over-promotion;
■ poor selection, inadequate training;
■ over-confidence;
■ under-confidence;
■ carelessness;
■ laziness;
■ lack of foresight.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Inability to learn from mistakes
Remember Murphy’s Law, which states that if anything can go
wrong it will. Mistakes will happen. The unforgivable thing is to
make the same mistake twice. You learn from your mistakes by
analysing what went wrong – no excuses, no alibis – and making
notes of what to do and what not to do next time.
Incompetence
This is something you should minimize in your subordinates by
a constant drive to improve selection and performance standards
and by training and coaching aimed at correcting specified
weaknesses.
If you have doubts about your own ability, analyse your own
strengths and weaknesses and grab every opportunity you can
to get extra training and advice from people you believe in. If
that still does not work, get out in good time.
How Things Go Wrong and How to Put Them Right 307