JUST PLANE CULTURE
COMPLACENCY C
By Patrick Kinane
omplacency has been identified as one of the top causes for safety issues and quality escapes. Since we recognize that, why does it remain the top of the list? For one thing, we “accidentally
on purpose” keep it there because we are complacent on complacency. I will describe the psychological reasons for this phenomenon. It will be counter-intuitive and run in the face of traditional lines of thinking. First is a statement of clarity: complacency is not a cause. Complacency is one of the Dirty Dozen. Although it is pointed to as a cause, it is a complex symptom that results from many things. Large organizations always have a disclaimer attached to their notices, so to put on appearances that I can swim in the big boy pool and as not to feel slighted, I am going to add a disclaimer. Disclaimer No. 1: what I am going to describe is ONE causal path for complacency, not the ONLY causal path of complacency. You will see how this one causal path spiders out into many root causes. This is one of the reasons for my caution with the Dirty
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Dozen. It is a great list of characteristics but it does not supply reasons. It is too often viewed as a causal list — 12 simple items that can be pointed at and one can say, “That’s the cause.” Cut and run, we are done and free to pursue other issues and not get tied up with nasty, time-consuming and cumbersome root-cause analysis. Imagine going to your doctor with a terrible headache and the doctor referred to the Rememdium Duodecim, the 12-page medical diagnostic manual. “I found the cause in the Rememdium Duodecim and the book states that your condition, in medical terminology, is pain,” says the doctor. “Do you want me to explain what that means in layman’s terms?” You decline the interpretation and prefer to go right
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to the cure. The doctor waves the enchanted pencil over your head and recites the mystical words, “Oogity boogity, the pain has gone away. Goodbye — pay on your way out and don’t let the door hit you in the ass.” How satisfied would you be with that? Do you think that the problem is fixed? Why accept this in our workplace? Disclaimer No. 2: the “Rememdium Duodecim,” “Medical Dozen” or any similar term is fictitious. I made these up. Disclaimer No. 3: any resemblance to any document titled Rememdium Duodecim, Medical Dozen or any similar-sounding term or document is purely coincidental. Now the question that should be asked is, “Why is there complacency?” Dig deep for the causes — this is plural because rarely will you find just one cause. You should uncover a multitude of causes, but for brevity in this article I am only going to pursue one path. Complacency is built into the system by management to
prevent complacency. That isn’t the intended purpose but it winds up being the outcome by pursuing compliance. Compliance breeds complacency. Yes, this is counter- intuitive. How many organizations do you know of in which when there is a problem, the first thing that is done is to find and persecute a victim, then write a policy to address the problem? I worked at one organization that had a robust root-cause analysis program but its application was totally convoluted. The policy was to first administer disciplinary action to those involved, then conduct a thorough root-cause analysis. Yes, you read that correctly. It sounds like the narrative from a Dilbert cartoon. That process further distanced the workforce from management and put another brick in the wall, fortifying compliance. Why would (or how could) a workforce be
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