The Blame Machine

Think of the best and the worst decision you've ever made. Most of us sorted them by how they turned out, not by how we decided. That's outcome bias, and it doesn't stop at our own heads. It runs through how organisations judge decisions, distribute credit and place blame. In this episode I look at what happens when the people who decide are not the people who answer for it. A company buys a new system. In one version it works and nobody asks how the choice was made. In the other it doesn't, and suddenly everyone is looking for who's at fault. I go through the conditions in organisations and the human behaviour that keep this running, and why demanding accountability makes the gap wider instead of closing it. Then I look at what AI does to all of it, and why it might be the most convenient scapegoat we've ever had. Accountability isn't something we can demand from people. It's something they take when they can see their responsibility clearly. Building that environment is leadership work, and it's harder than asking for results. This episode builds on earlier ones. If you’d like to go deeper, these are worth a listen: 1. The Power Paradox: power affects how we decide and how we handle accountability. 2. The Confidence Trap: we often overestimate our decision-making abilities. 3. The End of Why: curiosity is the grounding force that protects us from overconfidence. 4. Trust, The Broken Spine: accountability grows where people trust each other. 5. Psychological Safety: it builds an environment where people feel safe to take accountability.