While reading the latest post of Don Dodge’s “Next Big Thing”, I was reminded of what I call the “blamearama”. We’ve all seen it. Something goes wrong in a project, or any other endeavor, and everyone points the fingers at everyone else. Rooted in fear, it’s a particular issue in large companies, where everyone is risk adverse and living in terror of failing. Oddly, so many companies afflicted with this also think they’re innovative. There is NO innovation without risk. One can incrementally improve, refine execution and such, but no innovation, no radical change will come out of that mindset.
Only in an environment where you can openly say “these are the things I would do differently next time”, and not worry about being fired, can innovation thrive. In a healthy, innovative and creative environment, you are encouraged to take risks and be open to new ideas.
I also believe that, even in large companies where risk-aversion is the norm, it’s still possible to focus on quality and abandon the need to blame. To be open to changing circumstances and assuming the best if your staff. At that point you can start to achieve execution excellence, to hear all points of view and all pieces of process. Openly understand where the breakdowns occur and find ways to overcome them. I do believe this is possible.
