How to be a good captain in the public sector

Source: Apolitical Published: May 18, 2020

The Prevention Paradox

Economist and journalist John Kay was the first person to compare the behaviour of some executives to that of Captain MacWhirr in Joseph Conrad's 1902 classic, Typhoon. In Conrad’s story, Captain MacWhirr chose to sail straight through a devastating storm because he recognised that his employers would criticise him for delaying their cargo if he sought to sail round it.

"Suppose", he says, "I went swinging off my course and came in two days late, and they asked me 'where have you been?' 'Went round to dodge the bad weather,' I would say. 'It must have been dam' bad, they would say. 'Don't know,' I would have to say, 'I've dodged clear of it.'"

The Prevention Paradox isn’t confined to the private sector — it’s just as common in government

Modern executives mimic MacWhirr because company boards and stakeholders are very likely to criticise delay and expense, even if the organisation eventually achieves its objective. Executives, therefore, prefer to take uncertain and dangerous risks rather than face certain (unjustified) criticism.