I recall an ethics instructor who decried our tendency to assume that ethical violations would be easy to spot, as if we resembled those roast turkeys with an inserted thermometer that would pop out at the right moment.
The difficulty of gaining timely notice is also present in defense strategy debates when people declare that no military action should be taken unless there is an imminent threat.
Just what constitutes an imminent threat is where things become vague. Some threats are difficult to discern until it's too late to do much about them.
At which point did the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor become an imminent threat? Would there have been time for an effective defense once the threat was undeniable?
I've seen similar situations with organizations. Given our ability to deny dangers - to stare at a lion and declare "That is not a lion" - the only moment when many matters are crystal clear are when they are being analyzed from inside of the lion's stomach.
Rather than looking for major stages, we should consider the flow of events. That requires both information and attentiveness.
It may also require what many may regard as premature confrontation.
[Photo by Birger Strahl at Unsplash]
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