It seems to be popular these days to wave the banner that reads, “Failure is Not an Option!” Failure might not be an option from the viewpoint of middle managers and upper administration, but it has always been an option of the working class and workers who are fed up with the status quo.
Failure is not only an option, it has been the option of choice for many workers throughout time immemorial. Workers who have no power and no say into their working conditions have historically exercised the only remaining option: failure to meet management goals through work slow downs, breakage and loss of materials, and sabotage. I can remember reading a journal of a slave owner prior to the Civil War and was amazed at his lament that he could not understand why his slaves were so stupid and clumsy. He thought them stupid because they had a great deal of difficulty in understanding the simplest of directions so he could realize the best possible harvest. He thought them clumsy because they kept breaking things. That’s management for you–at least the worst of them.
It is also interesting that the worker has to put forth a superhuman effort to satisfy the clarion call of “failure is not an option” since we only hear this mandate when it is very likely that we will fail. But the only obligation on the heartless manager is to issue the charge. That, dear reader, is management at its worst. Instead of seeing minor failures as part of a learning and improvement system, we’re hit with “failure is not an option.” Instead of a qualified, experienced, and caring leader who works with employees to guide, support, and add solutions, poor managers hit us with the slogan. Bah!
As you can probably tell, I’ve been on the receiving end of the “failure is not an option” meanness. I guess it is a matter of perspective. The poor manager who will never be a leader hears, “failure is not an option–I’m leading through strength.” That’s not quite what the rest of us hear.
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