Likewise, the television news regularly features press conferences by corporate executives, government officials, hospital administrators, and other people bowing to the camera, apologizing for something or another, and promising it will never happen again. But it always does, and everybody knows the apologies are just rote formula with nary a shred of sincerity or real thought.
  
Of course one wonders why these things happen. And it is tempting to focus on the events themselves. But even more important -- the even bigger problem -- is that executives and other people think that a ritualistic apology is sufficient to make everything alright again. This is the real root of the problem: their who-cares complacency.

  
The 20th century saw not just illegalities by corporate organizations and government agencies but the greatest human arrogance in history -- historic folly by people everywhere. The corporate and other apologies that make the news are just the tip of the iceberg, and mankind will pay an increasingly heavy and increasingly varied price for its folly in the years to come. So is your company part of the problem or part of the answer?
  
How freely does information travel within the organization? Does everybody know what is happening and why? Or are you concentrating so much on information technology and downsizing that you have forgotten the difference between streamlining and cutting corners? Because if you are just eliminating people and not lowering barriers, you are not going to be able to make best use of your information to make sure your people are doing the right thing all the time.

  
Suzuki Shinobu
S2 Corp.