Page 96 - The Voice of Authority

not happen, the loss of projected revenues created tidal
waves throughout the entire organization.
When people have to admit their own mistakes, admis-
sions often follow along these lines:

“I was wrong, but so was everybody else.”
“What did you expect—under the circumstances?”
“Well, I’m not at liberty to tell you all the behind-the-
scenes things that happened, but we’re fortunate
things didn’t turn out worse.”

The message: Mumbo-jumbo meant to excuse the
speaker’s mistakes or failures. The attempt at face-saving
rather than admission of error rarely works in the long run.
Silent message: Self-protection at the expense of credibil-
ity for the long term.

Poor Performance of the Organization

Organizations report poor performance in lingo like this,
excerpted from a recent press release: “Results were nega-
tively impacted by reduced revenues and substantial costs
incurred as a result of the wave of rumors and misleading
press reports during the past quarter, as well as from un-
certainties arising from our announced break-up plan,
which distracted employees, customers, and vendors. . . .”
Say what? Nice dodge. I dare you to find someone or a
single thing to blame.
Other common explanations:

“. . . unexpected downturns in the market caused by
several factors that gave rise to growing concern
among our customers . . .”

84 The Voice of Authority