beware of Dirty Ducks
There are few groups of people anywhere in the world better at thinking up brilliant excuses than here at meltdown central.
Lately, the commonest buzzwords in circulation to serve this useful function are Black Swans and Lack of Transparency. Needless to say these are not at all new concepts but that doesn't stop the buzzwords being used to the point of nausea in management-speak and corporate communication.
A Black Swan, in case you've been living on another planet, is another name for something catastrophic that we haven't thought about happening, suddenly and unexpectedly and in not a good way, happening.
To show this is not a new concept, here are some historical examples of people describing things that nowadays would be called Black Swans:
- Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister (on what kept him awake at nights); "Events, dear boy - events !"
- The Japanese Emperor (explaining that the nation would surrender to avoid more atomic bombings): "The war has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage".
- Mrs Hewlett-Ola (daughter of Mr Stanford's accountant, on hearing that Mr Stanford is a swindler on a global scale): "All of this has come as a complete surprise".
Lack of Transparency is not, as you might think, the problem you get when you can no longer afford to pay someone to clean your windows, but a way to apportion blame to people who tell lies, without actually accusing them of lying. You might say that the successful operations of people like Messrs Stanford and Madoff depend on a Lack of Transparency. (Although the gullibility of people willing to swallow the Black-Swan excuse was probably very helpful to them in their work).
You can find a Black Swan, distinguished for its Lack of Transparency (well the windows anyway) in Stratford-upon-Avon, but it's better known as the Dirty Duck.
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