Federal managers certainly are not exempt from flaws and foibles. Events over the past few years from the President's various missteps to the colossal failure of the Agency for International Development's new management system serve as a reminder that public officials continue to suffer from self-inflicted wounds. The wounds are seldom fatal, but they often damage careers. If we create a new classification for rendering oneself politically impotent, I think we have some real contenders. Let's start with a basic premise.
Bad stuff happens.
As a result of acts of nature, unforeseeable events, technical glitches, lack of training or just plain bad judgment, public officials and their organizations make mistakes or disappoint their customers in some important way every day. Bad stuff even happens in the vaunted private sector. Projects and systems fail all the time. While many of us devote many waking hours to avoiding project failure or computer security violations, they continue to happen. And even with the best controls in place, humans have weaknesses except for thee and me, of course.