An attorney handled a legal process recently. It took twice as long and cost twice as much as she said it would, and the work was sloppy. The man who handled my investments made many simple mistakes on several easy projects and failed to mention important rules about various financial transactions. I refused to pay for his services. The thinking of the people in these stories is of limits, the words are of what they cannot do, and the actions are defensive.
Training appears virtually nonexistent, and skills are mediocre.
What is present in these stories is futility, non-caring, abdicated leadership, sleepwalking employees, and rigid literal and linear thinking. What is missing in these stories is empathy, creativity, initiative, commitment, responsibility, and accountability. I believe that most service employees do care. I think most in many organizations are just too tired, too angry, too scared, and too alienated as they work harder and harder, run faster and faster, and fall farther and farther behind. They are trapped in a system of thought that cannot solve the problems it created.