This ranks as one of the lamest jokes I have ever read.
Here’s what is funnier — the behaviour isn’t as rare and stupid as we think it is.
I call it eliminating the solution.
To illustrate this point better, a small anecdote of me eliminating the solution:
I went to a local eatery to parcel some food for lunch. I carried two steel boxes to pack the food in. After the food was ready, the person at the counter lightly closed the boxes with the lids. When I tried to close them fully, neither box closed. I tried resolutely for 10 minutes to no avail. By the time I reached home, half the sabzi from one of the boxes had leaked.
Fuming, I resolved to never use those steel boxes again and wanted to throw them out.
When I narrated what happened to my dad and wife, my dad asked me to get both the boxes. He looked at it for a second and simply switched the lids.
They sat perfectly.
I didn’t do the simple thing of switching the lids to see if I was making a mistake. Instead, I went on a rant about not ever using steel boxes.
That’s what I mean by eliminating the solution.
This behavior is not unique.
If you have worked long enough, you will come across all kinds of organisations and leaders. Some, when confronted with challenging times, do the hard work of change. They shake things up, listen to voices that have suggestions and solutions and have the guts to take tough calls.
Others do their best to retain status quo. Voices clamoring for change are silenced and all efforts are channeled towards not changing.
You also see the same behavior in governments when they try to suppress voices that speak out the truth.
The way to make things better and get on the path to progress is to hone in on the problem and address it.
Ignoring the problem and shunning people who want to bring about change is a surefire sign of eliminating the solution.
