Steer Out of the Blame Game

All's well if all ends well.

-- William Shakespeare

Yes, he said he would do this and that, and he didn't deliver.

Right, she was supposed to update you on that and this, and you haven't heard back.

True, the deadline is coming up, and it feels like neither he nor she even gives a shit.

First of all, breathe. It's never the end of the world. Things are hectic, they don't usually go as planned, and with so many people involved, it would take a miracle to complete on time and deliver quality results anyway.

Yet it seems that 9 out of 10 times we still do end up making it. And making it well :)

Blaming your colleagues, friends, service providers, or whoever is involved isn't the solution. Pointing the finger won't improve the quality, won't help you ship any faster, and won't actually help the cause.

It will likely do the opposite: less teamwork, lower quality, postponed timetables, and a near-guarantee that next time won't be any better. If there even is a next time.

Even if a poor outcome is genuinely due to someone else's lack of contribution, the blame game won't add real value.

Steer away from it. Retrospect with your team afterward, discussing what went well, what didn't go well, and what can be done differently the next time around.

But stop pointing the fingers. It never ends well.