The Guerrilla is in the Details!

Mea culpa.
It happens! Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. There is a big difference between blame and responsibility. If you’re confused as to what I’m referring to, it’s because you didn’t read The Guerilla, Pig and Corpse post. It would have been one of my better installations if only. Let me first backtrack a bit. The difference between blame and responsibility is this; we are all responsible for what we do and for what we have committed ourselves to. It’s either odd or ironic that last month’s column began by saying that if the road to hell was paved with good intentions… Oh, well. As for blame, it can become a game. In this case, I am both responsible for not being aware that gorilla and guerilla were interchanged. Spelled correctly – yes! Used correctly – No! Why? I could blame it on being in a rush to make my deadline or say I was distracted by something or another. I could, since I’m creative enough, come up with a bunch of excuses but not one good reason. I relied on Spell Check to check my work and in retrospect selected the wrong guerilla to fix a typo and compounded the error by selecting – Change All.

Dastardly Computers!
It’s those dastardly computers! as a local news anchor chides. True, they have assisted us to make bigger and better mistakes faster than we have ever done before. Truthfully, they are just tools; complicated tools, but tools none the less. The craftsman masters the tool not the other way around. Perhaps the theme for this month’s column is as old as the ages – never assume anything! In a way, I’m very glad that my faux pas occurred because it will help me to point out a very important aspect of doing business. There is no substitute for quality! Yet, we allow it to be compromised because of a lack of attention (mea culpa), a lack of care or a disregard for the people who will consume what we produce or offer as a solution to their problems.

My Business Engineering mantra of the 5-P’s is all balance on the most important P of all. Price Product, Place and Promotion all balance on People. People are who set, regulate, accept or reject a Price. It’s People who make, sell, buy and use the Product. The Place where you make or buy the Product is occupied, staffed and visited by – People! Promotion requires one group of People to understand what another group of People want and how much they’re willing to access it and pay for it.

Ask Mom...
Here’s a way to look at what happened in last month’s column – it’s nobody’s fault. Ask Mom, she’ll agree. When she asked you who broke the glass or didn’t close the front door or put an empty milk container in the fridge, she was always told – Nobody! Does your organization depend on People who endeavor to act in an as ethical way as possible on your behalf? Do you or can you live up to the standard you expect others to follow? I don’t know where I first heard it but I read or was told that in order to lie, you must lie twice; once to yourself and once to the person you want to deceive. Sometimes you lie to yourself twice or, as well all like to occasionally believe convince ourselves that there are no gorillas in our midst and therefore ignore them or, the technology, the business environment and our government is rife with guerillas that would sabotage our every move.

And for those of you who were paying attention: Guerilla is also spelled guerrilla. Guerrilla is the preferred American spelling of the two, which I didn't use except in the title. You can never take your eyes off those guerrillas or gorillas...