We just had a damage control situation at work. And the interesting thing was, it was an inherited problem from someone who had left the firm. But here’s the good news.
At no time, during meetings with the client or the suppliers, did anyone say: “oh, that’s so and so’s fault. It wasn’t us.”
And I think that’s really wise. Blaming someone else is easy in the short term. But long term it’s an evasion of responsibility and kills the creativity you need to solve problems.
This refusal to play the blame game puts me in mind of a poem by one of my favourite poets, Hafiz (translated by Daniel Ladinsky.)
It goes like this:
THE SAD GAME
Blame
Keeps the sad game going.
It keeps stealing all your wealth-
Giving it to an imbecile with
No financial skills.
Dear one,
Wise
Up.
[appendix. When you get right down to it, in most you situations you'll find no one's to blame. Or everyone's to blame. Take your pick.
