> "The maintenance process for heavy equipment should be revised to prevent future issues."
This is absolutely the diplomatic way to communicate and handle the situation on the West Coast, but interestingly, while we talk about the problem systemically, that's not necessarily what's actually happening. By putting in place a process-driven solution, Bill isn't directly blamed, but some of his autonomy is stripped away.
Sometimes the proposed systematic solution isn't even ever implemented, because what's actually being communicated is just "Don't fuck this up again, Bill."
> By putting in place a process-driven solution, Bill isn't directly blamed, but some of his autonomy is stripped away.
This is key, but something that goes beyond communication styles. One reason I feel our society is dying in bureaucracy at every level is that larger organizations and more broad functions within industries always get standardized and then rigidly turned into processes, usually incrementally over time. Every time someone makes a mistake, we have a "this is why we can't have nice things" moment, but to some degree I bridle at this and feel it's inherently dehumanizing. Organizations and societies are made up of people, and people should be free to make mistakes, the structures in place merely need to prevent disastrous consequences, not /any/ consequences. Autonomy is a function of personal well-being and fulfillment, and it's literally dehumanizing to strip it away, even if "it's for a good cause".
The net effect of all of this is why the US (and the West generally) can't successfully complete any major infrastructure projects on time and under budget for a reasonable price. These types of projects can happen pretty easily in the developing world (although the pendulum probably swings too far towards callousness to human life there).
This is absolutely the diplomatic way to communicate and handle the situation on the West Coast, but interestingly, while we talk about the problem systemically, that's not necessarily what's actually happening. By putting in place a process-driven solution, Bill isn't directly blamed, but some of his autonomy is stripped away.
Sometimes the proposed systematic solution isn't even ever implemented, because what's actually being communicated is just "Don't fuck this up again, Bill."