Pennac’s book “Paradise of the Ogres” tells the story of Malaussène whose job is scapegoat, a job that involves being squeezed by customers for malfunctioning objects.
Within companies, there are specific functions which play the role of the unfortunate Malaussène and are usually Controlling, ICT, Marketing, Purchasing etc.
In more than one meeting, we’ve heard phrases such as: “The lack of a critical component with quality problems has led to production’s overspending” or “I could have exceeded the budget, but some procedures based on old management impeded it” and again “the incorrect numbers presented by the Controller have led to underestimating a critical situation”.
A good scapegoat is worth almost as much as a solution, it is comfortable and distracts the eye from uncomfortable analysis.
The first step towards solving a problem, however, is to recognize that you have a problem. Picking on Malaussène means that the problem remains hidden, unresolved and that the company will continue to make mistakes to the extreme.
If you really want to dream, then wake up, in other words if you really want to solve a problem, then focus on it!
@Ezio Aprile
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