Instapundit Reynolds also writes a column for the New York Post. For a law prof, Reynolds has a reasonable grasp of managerial theory. Today he writes:
Underlings tend to tell higher-ups what they think the higher-ups want to hear. Even in the best organizations, it takes constant effort to ensure that bad news makes it up the chain of command. And Putin’s Russia is not the best of organizations.
Putin has been in power for a long time, and making him happy has been the way to get ahead. And on a day-to-day basis, it works: People get good fitness reports, leaders feel happy, everyone wins.
Until, you know, it’s time to perform. Then reality comes crashing in. That’s the price of suppressing the truth in favor of the party line.
Too many managers/leaders/presidents are wont to "shoot the messenger" when bad news is delivered, blaming the reporting underling for the problem reported. The result: people stop bringing reports of problems to the boss who is then bewildered when reality rears its ugly head.
It is also true that "shoot the messenger" isn't exclusively a Russian problem. It happens here too ... a lot, as Reynolds points out.
