Do Not Play The Game Of Blame And Shame

In Singapore, some business people could be heard saying at the coffee shops: "Blame your parents when you have no food and blame the government when your business is bad." Such wrong attitude provides a bad start to solving your problems. Shame and blame are not justifiable. Take responsibility.

Much of the world's trouble arose as people blame others for their misfortunes. When criminals are jailed for murder, they blame it on their childhood abuses that have caused them to be angry against society. Teenagers got addicted to drugs and they blame it on their divorced parents that caused them to be delinquent. People get obese and sue the McDonalds for serving fat-laden hamburgers. No wonder, we are increasingly becoming such a litigious society. During the Asia financial crisis in 1998, some Malaysians were blaming the IMF, or ' It's all Mahathir's Fault for the crisis'.

The buck should stop with you. Troubled companies should take responsibility for their pathetic state of affairs because of their past actions. Otherwise, there is no accountability and recognition of one's mistakes. Every action results in positive or negative consequence. Learning will not take place if one does not take cognizance of one's erroneous ways.

Many executives think that 'corporate wellness' is a question of the economic situation, competition and customers' behaviour. Companies do not self-critique its corporate culture and management, Similar to physical wellness, most people thought that it is letting the genes determine the health. They do not eat more vegetables, exercise regularly and maintain good mental health. The individual or corporate efforts are not so important. However, this belief is an illusion as we are responsible for our own physical or corporate wellness.

It is found that our behaviours as well as emotional and spiritual make-up can affect our physical health. Corporations too should take responsibility for its own wellness by taking personal accountability for the outcome. As an author Robert H Schuller once said: "If it is going to be, it is up to me."

Once you acknowledge the problem and take responsibility for your action, the energy can be focused and channeled towards active and constructive remedies. It saps away energy when one plays the game of shame and blame or in medical terms, licking your own wounds. Blaming behaves like the bad cholesterol of the mind as it is directed towards vengeance and negativism. On the other hand, nothing is more beneficial to a good organisation than having a solid system of accountability rather than blaming.

Accountability is making good on one's commitments and promises and dealing with the consequences if these are not duly delivered. When this message is communicated clearly throughout the organization, the message will then be respected by all. Business leaders must develop a strong sense of accountability. They must take responsibilities for their decisions and know that the buck stops with them. They must not only know what tasks to assign, they must ensure that their senior colleagues take due responsibility for getting these tasks implemented effectively and efficiently. They must deliver results. When things go wrong, business leaders must not exonerate their guilt by finding scapegoats or through witch hunt.

Moving down the line, all the staff have to be held accountable for their plans, commitments and actions. They have to deliver based on the financial budget committed for the year. They have to deliver to customers what they promise them. They have to take the rap for their actions.

Customers are generally quite forgiving if you admit to a mistake and try to make amends. No supplier is perfect and customers know that. The important thing here is that you take responsibilities for any mistakes, rectify the mistakes, make restitution if necessary and ensure that the problems do not recur.

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