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Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic
Author: Tim Bryce  | Posted: 09-11-2007 | Comments: 0 | Views: 14 | Rating: (50)  (?) 
 This has been a favorite catch-phrase of mine for a number of years and I have used it to describe the state of management in many of the companies I have consulted with over the years. Basically, it's saying people tend to work on the wrong things, that their priorities are not right. You see this phenomenon just about everywhere you go these days. In addition to the business world, I have seen many nonprofit organizations operating in this manner. Frankly, this is very disconcerting.
One of the best examples of this is the Hurricane Katrina disaster not long ago. A few months prior to this, I happened to see a documentary on television regarding the future impact of hurricanes. Interestingly, they centered their attention on the City of New Orleans where they talked to engineers who described the system of levees protecting the city. One engineer pointed out that the levees would have a hard time sustaining a Category 3 storm, and that either a Category 4 or 5 would breach them which, unfortunately, proved tragically correct. What this tells us is that city planners knew full well the levees were inadequate, yet chose to ignore the problem and diverted money elsewhere.
I am sure we all know of many other examples of this "Deck Chair" phenomenon (anybody remember the Mayor in the movie "Jaws"?). Instead of doing what is needed, people tend to take the path of least resistance; the least painful path which inevitably leads to serious consequences later on. Nobody likes to deal with problems as they are perceived as burdensome and something we don't want to be bothered with. Instead, we tend to attack symptoms which are less painful and seemingly easier to cure. This is like trying to apply a Band-Aid when a tourniquet is really needed.
I'm a bit of a history buff and one of my favorite examples I use to illustrate this point is General Billy Mitchell who was a big proponent or air power following World War I. In 1924 he was sent on assignment by the Army to study Pacific defenses, including Pearl Harbor. This resulted in an extensive 323 page report which detailed with great accuracy how vulnerable our military bases were to attack. Although his report was rebuffed and ridiculed by the Army, Mitchell proved to be prophetic as the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941 in accordance with his report produced 17 years earlier. In other words, the military knew they were vulnerable, yet did the bare minimum to prevent attack, thus resulting in a heavy casualty rate.
As the Mitchell case proves, in addition to having a good understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, planning requires some farsightedness to anticipate problems before they occur. But we have become lax in terms of our long-term planning skills. Maybe it's because we now live in a fast-paced world and tend to live for the moment as opposed to planning for tomorrow. Or maybe we've been doing things wrong so long, we think it is right. This leads me to believe we are better reactionaries as opposed to far-sighted planners. Instead of looking into a crystal ball, we prefer to wait until havoc strikes then point fingers at each other as to whose fault it was.
Consider the banter of the various Internet Discussion Groups dedicated to specific subject areas. I find it amusing that people tend to talk around a topic or grouse about something as opposed to directly addressing the subject. In other words, we as human beings have a natural tendency to avoid addressing problems and discuss inconsequential items instead. Having been involved in the I.T. field for many years now, I have never encountered a technical problem that couldn't be overcome as long as you are allowed to address it openly and rationally. Managers should encourage constructive discourse as opposed to trying to suppress it.
If everyone would set aside some time to regularly examine and organize their priorities, think of how we might be better off. First, everyone would be rowing on the same oar as opposed to working against each other. Second, we might properly tackle the problems that really need to be addressed. But planning doesn't come easy. It requires brain power. Something we don't like to engage. Ask yourself, when was the last time you truly organized your own personal set of priorities? See what I mean.
As for me, I'm a big believer of either patching the hole in the ship, or getting into a life boat. I'll leave others to "Rearrange the Deck Chairs on the Titanic."
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