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Understanding how bureaucracy develops

(dhruvmethi.substack.com)
192 points dhruvmethi | 3 comments | 17 Oct 24 14:32 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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sevensor ◴[19 Oct 24 18:31 UTC] No.41889622[source]▶
When you treat every negative outcome as a system failure, the answer is more systems. This is the cost of a blameless culture. There are places where that’s the right answer, especially where a skilled operator is required to operate in an environment beyond their control and deal with emergent problems in short order. Aviation, surgery. Different situations where the cost of failure is lower can afford to operate without the cost of bureaucratic compliance, but often they don’t even nudge the slider towards personal responsibility and it stays at “fully blameless.”
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hypeatei ◴[19 Oct 24 19:35 UTC] No.41890119[source]▶
I've never seen it put so succinctly but this is the issue I have with blameless culture. We can design CI pipelines, linters, whatever it is to stop certain issues with our software from being released but if someone is incompetent, they don't care and will find a way to fuck something up and you can only automate so much.
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1. liquidpele ◴[19 Oct 24 22:04 UTC] No.41891122[source]▶
There’s a 2x2 matrix you can put employees into with one side being smart/idiot and the other being lazy/industrious. There is no greater threat than the industrious idiot.
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2. wffurr ◴[20 Oct 24 00:36 UTC] No.41891960[source]▶
There’s a quote from a German general:

“ I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent — their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy — they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent — he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief.”

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3. liquidpele ◴[21 Oct 24 13:04 UTC] No.41903739[source]▶
Ah that’s the original, I was going off an old memory.