Wonderful article to read on April Fool's Day by Bob Cringely about the 3 Mile Island nuclear accident.
He's got some great points:
- Errors in design lead to disasters.
- Errors in understanding desired outcomes lead to disasters.
- The wrong technology leads to disasters.
- Following the book leads to disasters.
- Over-engineering is sometimes a good thing.
- The leader's background matters a lot.
And by me saying these things doesn't take anything away from reading it. Great post, methinks.
With the chickens having come to roost in so many companies, and CxOs getting zapped left and right for good reason, we have to conclude that something is wrong in our selection process for the leaders of our companies. Not all companies, certainly, but enough that one should start saying "hmm".
When you go to work today, or when you decide to invest in a new company with you hard-earned savings, or when you look at working for a new firm, maybe you should think a bit about what makes your leader your leader.
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