Commentary by management consultant Michael Wade on Leadership, Ethics, Management, and Life
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Prevention or Remedy?
A sad truth revealed in a question: If there were two stores and one sold Prevention and the other sold Remedy, which store would have a long line of customers stringing around the block?
The problem with prevention is you don't know which ones are necessary until it's too late, then when prevention is adopted, it's success is measured by how little it is noticed. Cures are always noticed because they are only required during crises, and therefore get lots of notice even if only marginally effective.
I'm a prevention kind of guy myself, but as a realist I never expect any recognition or praise for it. Just the personal pride of knowing I've made a bigger difference than most realize motivates me.
2 comments:
The problem with prevention is you don't know which ones are necessary until it's too late, then when prevention is adopted, it's success is measured by how little it is noticed. Cures are always noticed because they are only required during crises, and therefore get lots of notice even if only marginally effective.
I'm a prevention kind of guy myself, but as a realist I never expect any recognition or praise for it. Just the personal pride of knowing I've made a bigger difference than most realize motivates me.
Daniel,
I'm also a prevention advocate and likewise expect no praise for preventing problems and even disasters.
Sometimes you can tell which preventive steps are necessary but selling action can be quite difficult. The "sell" is always easier after Pearl Harbor.
Michael
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