When a new product flops in the marketplace or a recent hire turns out to be the employee from hell, blaming somebody for the mistake seems, well, just a tad rude. So people talk politely around the blunder, saying things like “sales targets were missed” or “mistakes occurred,” as if the error happened all by itself. Indeed, at many companies, blame is the proverbial elephant in the middle of the room that people pretend isn’t there. At other organizations, people are all too quick to point fingers, leaving employees more concerned about avoiding blame than about achieving results. Such organizations, ruled by “CYA,” have given blame a bum rap.
A version of this article appeared in the July–August 2001 issue of Harvard Business Review.