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 worlds 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 Its all Mahathirs 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 ones mistakes. Every action results in positive or

negative consequence. Learning will not take place if one does not take cognizance of

ones 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 ones 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.

http://www.corporateturnaroundexpert.com

Dr Mike Teng (DBA, MBA, BEng, FIMechE, FIEE, CEng, PEng, FCMI, FCIM, SMCS) is the author of the best-selling business book Corporate Turnaround: Nursing a sick company back to health, in 2002. In 2006, he authored another book entitled, Corporate Wellness: 101 Principles in Turnaround and Transformation. Dr Teng is widely recognized as a turnaround CEO in Asia by the news media. He has 27 years of experience in corporate responsibilities in the Asia Pacific region. Of these, he held Chief Executive Officers positions for 17 years in multi-national, local and publicly listed companies. He led in the successful turnaround of several troubled companies. He is currently the Managing Director of a business advisory firm, Corporate Turnaround Centre Pte Ltd, which assists companies on a fast track to financial performance. Dr Teng was the President of the Marketing Institute of Singapore (2000 2004), the national body representing some 5000 individual and corporate marketing professionals in Singapore.

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