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Have you ever seen a guy in an office who couldn’t complete a project even if his life depended on it, regardless of the amount of time afforded him? You know the type, an arm chair quarterback who is quick to take credit when the opportunity presents itself and blames others when things go awry. Such a person’s management style is perhaps best described as reactive as opposed to proactive. The truth is, everybody knows he is in over his head and grows tired of his excuses. Such is Barrack Obama who is simply floundering as president. To listen to his side of the story, he would have us believe he had nothing to do with the problems of the economy, the national debt, unemployment, the growing powder keg in the Middle East, etc. Not only does he consider himself blameless, but goes so far as to portray himself as the victim of the work of others.
Obama began his term blaming George W. Bush for all the problems of the world, a clever strategy which helped get him elected. Interestingly though, he is still blaming Bush after three years in office. The most popular catchphrase associated with his first term is, of course, “It is Bush’s fault.” You’ll notice he still uses the present tense, not “WAS”, but “IS.” Bush became the scapegoat for everything that ocurred not only during his term of office, but even for events associated with the Obama administration, which included blaming Bush for the Solyndra scandal. Huh?
As the president begins to posture for his reelection, the reference to Bush is slowly being minimized and replaced by blaming the Republican Congress which is vilified as the cause of the national debt, the economy, unemployment, his low popularity ratings, not to mention the delays to his various vacations. As the head of his party, he has somehow lost sight of the fact that it takes two to tango; instead of finding ways to overcoming impasses, as all of his predecessors had to do, he is content to draw a line in the sand and dare the Congress to step across it.
The president has also blamed a lot of other people along the way:
* He blamed the rich for making people poor. (Huh?)
* He blamed automation for unemployment. (Huh?)
* He even blamed the 2011 Texas Wildfires on Global Warming. (Huh?)
* And he doubtless blames Israel for the problems in the Middle East.
Interestingly, all of his blames are designed for political gain. If you say them with enough repetition and conviction, people gullibly begin to believe them and are able to recite them chapter and verse. It’s what is commonly known as drinking the O-Kool Aid. Regardless of the data opposing him, his supporters fervently blame others for the president’s weaknesses.
Mr. Obama may be a fine speaker but he has yet to prove his leadership capabilities which is basically the difference between a talker and a doer. His lack of experience as an administrator has become glaringly obvious. In management terms, he is a prime example of the Peter Principle whereby someone has risen above his level of competency.
Just remember, his mantra going into the elections will be, “Deny everything, blame everyone else.” Heck, an incompetent manager couldn’t say it better.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at [email protected]
For Tim’s columns, see:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
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Copyright © 2012 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.