I worked for one of the big railroads. I was amazed at how incompetent and timid folks were when it came time to make decisions.
“I was amazed at how incompetent and timid folks were when it came time to make decisions.”
The reason for that is people get put into positions, not because of knowledge or competence, but because of their connections. This means they often don’t have a clue what the better answer would be. As long as they don’t make any decision, they can’t be blamed for something going wrong.
I recognized this when I worked as the engineering manager for a major subcomponents manufacturer supplying General Dynamics. I always went with at least three options with the upside and downside of each option. The man running the GD facility wouldn’t even let me finish explaining the first option before shouting it was my decision. (His money and risk but my decision?!) I always ended up making the call and I’d be blamed for whatever the result even when those results were exactly what I’d tried to outline. When I call him and idiot, I mean this. People would come to me and say, “Did you get the email from Joe?” “Yes. I printed it out and took a copy home.” “So did I.”