That proverbial stable door

“It is too late to close the stable door after the horse has bolted”.

“Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let loose the dogs of war”.

“Who let the dogs out?”

It is unfortunate when corrective action slaps on a belly bandage as treatment for a peptic ulcer. The same can be said for the treatment of the physical peptic ulcer itself without treating the cause of it. Those sayings in quotes earlier on all passed through my mind when I read about the SAF having to tighten training safety. When will we ever learn? When will we start practicing the mantra that safety during operations is reflected in safety during peacetime training? That smoke is a two-edged weapon which obscures line-of-sight not only for the enemy, but also for us, and may we all have thermal imagers? That someone has died because of “acute allergic reaction” to zinc chloride is definitely tragic, but look for alternatives? I suppose we then wait until another allergy to some other compound is discovered, and so on, ad infinitum?

This is not the way to go. Organizations and businesses need to be much more robust than that. The way we train our people ought to be how we want them to perform when the rubber meets the road. The way we supervise is of great importance, too. Stop the nonsensical arguing about leader and manager. It is time for leaders to realize that some aspects of management skills are implied when we talk about leadership attributes. It is the duty of every leader to supervise. Neglect that, and we’ll keep needing new horses. Not to mention creating more and more fences and gates to compensate for unlocked stable doors.

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