Boss pathologies--trying to beat Mother Nature
In 1991, the United States Air Force faced two formidable opponents. One was named Saddam Hussein and the other Mount Pinatubo. Against Saddam, forces were marshaled, missions were flown, bombs were dropped, and the dictator was rebuffed. Against the volcano, one day after the first low-level eruption, the United States started the evacuation of Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Why such a contrast?
In the Philippines, the antagonist was Mother Nature; in Iraq, it was just a megalomaniac leader with a seasoned war machine a half million men strong. With Mount Pinatubo, the United States Air Force showed modesty and good judgment in deciding not to fight and opted for flight. Five days later, on June 16th the base was buried in several feet of volcanic ash.
Often our human response is to fight natural forces, or deny that the threat is real. Consider the story of Harry Truman. Harry lived at Spirit Lake, located on the lower slopes of Mount Helens. Warned of the volcano’s increasing activity Harry refused to evacuate saying, "That mountain's part of Harry and Harry's part of that mountain. ... I'm coming down feet first or I'm not coming down at all.” The second part of his statement was prophetic--Harry is still on the lower slopes of the mountain--under a quarter mile of rock of what used to be upper Mount St Helens.
Sometimes people do prevail against the forces of nature. National Geographic magazine chronicled the story of Icelanders that diverted a lava flow away from their town by spraying millions of gallons of seawater on it. Heroics do occasionally work, but it would be foolish to plan on them working every time.
In the Philippines, the antagonist was Mother Nature; in Iraq, it was just a megalomaniac leader with a seasoned war machine a half million men strong. With Mount Pinatubo, the United States Air Force showed modesty and good judgment in deciding not to fight and opted for flight. Five days later, on June 16th the base was buried in several feet of volcanic ash.
Often our human response is to fight natural forces, or deny that the threat is real. Consider the story of Harry Truman. Harry lived at Spirit Lake, located on the lower slopes of Mount Helens. Warned of the volcano’s increasing activity Harry refused to evacuate saying, "That mountain's part of Harry and Harry's part of that mountain. ... I'm coming down feet first or I'm not coming down at all.” The second part of his statement was prophetic--Harry is still on the lower slopes of the mountain--under a quarter mile of rock of what used to be upper Mount St Helens.
Sometimes people do prevail against the forces of nature. National Geographic magazine chronicled the story of Icelanders that diverted a lava flow away from their town by spraying millions of gallons of seawater on it. Heroics do occasionally work, but it would be foolish to plan on them working every time.
Managers often try to fight human nature – a force potentially just as awesome and destructive as Mount Pinatubo in the business environment. With arrogance and bravado managers attempt to steal people and resources from their peers, pretend that groups that never see each other will communicate effortlessly, and assume that everyone will do the right thing for the organization—even if it isn’t the best thing for them. Many a project has failed because the manager refused to distinguish between a tough task, and a task that pits you against the forces of nature.
posted by VanceH- @ 10:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home