{"id":1414,"date":"2024-06-05T22:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T22:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aidanmccullen.com\/?p=1414"},"modified":"2024-06-05T22:54:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T22:54:00","slug":"scapegoats-in-suits-bad-apples-or-rotten-barrels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanmccullen.com\/?p=1414","title":{"rendered":"Scapegoats in Suits: Bad Apples or Rotten Barrels?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aDwight D. Eisenhower<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bible (and The Torah) recounts the story of \u201cthe scapegoat\u201d as one of a pair of kid goats. One goat was sacrificed, while the \u201cscapegoat\u201d was cast into the desert to \u201ccarry away\u201d the sins of the community. Friend of and guest on The Innovation Show,Luke Burgis<\/a> tells us in his book, \u201cWanting<\/a>\u201d, that the ancient Greeks practised a version of a scapegoating ritual\u200a\u2014\u200abut they sacrificed humans, not\u00a0animals.<\/p>\n

In early Greek history, during times of plague, drought or famine, when societies feared for their survival, each Greek town would elect an inhabitant on the edges of society, someone conveniently \u201cdifferent\u201d, a slave, an outcast or a criminal. This unfortunate person was the pharmak\u00f3s. The word pharmak\u00f3s is the root of the English word \u201cpharmacy.\u201d To the Greeks, it meant both a poison and remedy\u200a\u2014\u200alike a vaccine, a necessary poison. In times of turmoil, the sacrifice of the pharmak\u00f3s brought a temporary order to the chaos. In the business world, scapegoating remains alive and\u00a0well.<\/p>\n

The Scapegoat Mechanism in\u00a0Business<\/h3>\n

Leadership (to the head of DEI): \u201cYou mean to tell us you have failed to solve racism!?! You\u2019re\u00a0Fired!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Often, the scapegoats in modern businesses wear suits. Leaders in roles like Innovation, DEIQ, and ESG are tasked with transforming organisations. Yet, they frequently lack the resources and authority to enact meaningful change. When their initiatives falter, they become convenient targets for\u00a0blame.<\/p>\n

\u201cScapegoating masks the true cause of the violence and shifts blame to an innocent victim.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aRen\u00e9\u00a0Girard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Girard, a renowned anthropologist and philosopher, identified the scapegoat mechanism as a recurring pattern in human societies. When a community faced a crisis, people collectively projected blame onto an individual or a group, regardless of their true culpability. Eliminating the scapegoat brought with it a false sense of relief and\u00a0unity.<\/p>\n

In corporations, this translates to blaming \u201cbad apples\u201d for organisational failures, rather than addressing the systemic issues of \u201ca rotten barrel\u201d. While this is the case with failures in innovation, DEI, ESG and any transformation it\u2019s also true at a cultural level. This is evident in cases like the Wells Fargo scandal and the Volkswagen Dieselgate emissions fraud. CEOs often point fingers at a few rogue employees to avoid taking responsibility for broader cultural problems.<\/p>\n

In her book, \u201cHigher Ground\u201d, our guest on The Innovation Show, Alison Taylor<\/a> reminds us, \u201cCultural conditions can persist and metastasise, even when leaders are removed.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> For example, Wells Fargo burned through 4 CEOs in 8 years after its fake accounts scandal broke in 2014. Boeing had 3 in the 3 years following the grounding of the 737\u00a0MAX!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to blame individuals for unethical behaviour, while, research reveals that toxic cultures, a lack of psychological safety, and misguided incentives play a significant role.<\/p>\n

The Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal is a prime example of a \u201crotten barrel.\u201d The company\u2019s autocratic leadership style and culture of fear fostered an environment where unethical decisions could\u00a0thrive.<\/p>\n

A Toxic Barrel: Volkswagen\u2019s Dieselgate<\/h3>\n

After the Dieselgate debacle, then chairman of VW\u2019s board of management, Martin Winterkorn, stated that these actions were \u201cthe terrible mistakes of a few people,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>with whom he did not identify! Soon afterwards, he resigned in \u201cshock\u201d that misconduct had occurred on a grand scale. Scapegoating the bad apples conveniently absolves leaders of personal responsibility for any wrongdoings undertaken on their\u00a0watch.<\/p>\n

In 2009, Bernie Madoff told Vanity Fair: \u201cIt starts out with you taking a little bit, maybe a few hundred, a few thousand. You get comfortable with that, and before you know it, it snowballs into something big.\u201d This echoes that famous retort uttered by a character in Ernest Hemingway\u2019s novel \u201cThe Sun Also Rises\u201d. When asked how he went bankrupt, he replied: \u201cTwo ways. Gradually and then suddenly.\u201d (This summation of how business failure creeps up on victims is a line quoted in Big Bang Disruption, by a friend of The Innovation Show<\/a>, Paul\u00a0Nunes<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Post-mortems<\/a> of the Dieselgate scandal reveal that the company suffered a similar fate. It degraded into a rotten barrel of apples gradually, then suddenly.<\/p>\n

Volkswagen had thrived under the autocratic leadership of Winterkorn and his mentor, Ferdinand Pi\u00ebch. VW leadership set aggressive unrealistic goals, with senior executives involved in even minor decisions. Former employees described a workplace where subordinates feared admitting failure or contradicting superiors. Company leaders bullied employees, and Pi\u00ebch boasted about achieving superior performance by \u201cterrifying his engineers\u201d<\/em><\/strong> and even firing those who displeased him. Winterkorn disliked bad news, with an industry analyst noting, \u201cBefore anyone reports to him, they make sure they have good news.\u201d Winterkorn found it easy to blame a bad apple rather than address the \u201cDorian Gray barrel\u201d environment he had helped create. It was a case of near-death by a thousand corner cuts and cultural demise by a thousand\u00a0cracks.<\/p>\n

Maintaining the Healthy\u00a0Barrel<\/h3>\n

Transforming corporate culture, while difficult, is not impossible. It involves bringing in external leaders with fresh perspectives, implementing robust internal oversight, and establishing and enforcing consequences for unethical behaviour. Companies should have a well-defined values statement that guides organisational actions and top management must exemplify these values\u00a0daily.<\/p>\n

To address the root issues\u200a\u2014\u200abeyond blaming \u201cbad apples\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aefforts to build an ethical culture must focus on the overall conditions within the \u201cbarrel.\u201d This means scrutinising power dynamics, resources, incentives, and norms. How these elements are structured and designed reflects how leaders perceive the company\u2019s purpose in the broader environment. How a company generates revenue and manages its impacts is as crucial as its adherence to legal standards. The key questions are: What behaviour does the organisation reward, and what does it punish? Addressing these questions helps ensure the entire barrel is healthy, not just the individual apples.<\/p>\n

Thanks for\u00a0Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen to our latest episode of The Innovation Show with Alison Taylor, where we delve deeper into ethics, ESG, and how to build a \u201cHigher Ground\u201d for your organisation.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/medium.com\/media\/03f82711e3a7b2aa65fdb04c03c22f4a\/href<\/a><\/p>\n

Scapegoats in Suits: Bad Apples or Rotten Barrels?<\/a> was originally published in The Thursday Thought<\/a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.<\/p>\n

The post Scapegoats in Suits: Bad Apples or Rotten Barrels?<\/a> appeared first on The Innovation Show<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aDwight D. Eisenhower The Bible (and The Torah) recounts the story of \u201cthe scapegoat\u201d as one of a pair of kid goats. One goat was sacrificed, while the \u201cscapegoat\u201d was cast into the desert to \u201ccarry away\u201d the sins of the community. Friend of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nScapegoats in Suits: Bad Apples or Rotten Barrels? - Aidan McCullen \u2013 Keynote Speaker Ireland | Innovation & Leadership Expert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aidanmccullen.com\/?p=1414\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scapegoats in Suits: Bad Apples or Rotten Barrels? - Aidan McCullen \u2013 Keynote Speaker Ireland | Innovation & Leadership Expert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aDwight D. 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Eisenhower The Bible (and The Torah) recounts the story of \u201cthe scapegoat\u201d as one of a pair of kid goats. One goat was sacrificed, while the \u201cscapegoat\u201d was cast into the desert to \u201ccarry away\u201d the sins of the community. 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Eisenhower The Bible (and The Torah) recounts the story of \u201cthe scapegoat\u201d as one of a pair of kid goats. One goat was sacrificed, while the \u201cscapegoat\u201d was cast into the desert to \u201ccarry away\u201d the sins of the community. 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