A new CIO is starting his job for the first time.
On the way in he’s greeted by the outgoing CIO. The outgoing CIO says, “Hey, good luck, in your bottom drawer, I left three letters labelled 1 – 3. Whenever there is a crisis, open them in order starting with 1.”
“Thanks.” The new CIO said as they parted ways.
Things got busy, and the CIO almost forgot about the letters until a crisis hit. He remembers the letters and opens the first one. “Blame the old CIO,” it says. So he does, and people understand, and things settle down.
A few months go by and yet another crisis hits. Again the CIO opens the second letter, and it says, “Blame the people.” So he does, and it forces a reorganisation and restructuring, but the crisis goes away.
Things are going smoothly until another crisis hits. So the CIO opens the last letter that says, “Prepare three letters.”
Funny story, but it does illustrate the dysfunction that often occurs in many organisations and when blame is passed around, without really addressing the issues.
When I go, I expect that many people are going to blame me for many of the ills that may be encountered, whether I cause it or not. Heck, right now I expect people to be complaining about me, but for some reason choose not to approach me directly. Perhaps I should stop biting people.
I see much of the dysfunction right now, and it’s a bit disillusioning. Being the purist and idealist that I am, I do hope for better things, but that hope is slowly withering away.
Perhaps it’s time to prepare my three letters.