Most Disasters Don’t Come From Bad People. They Come From People Who Don't Care Enough.
Today, I want to talk to you about negligence.
Why negligence?
You would think there are so many other topics that seem to be a higher priority. But make no mistake, negligence rules this world. It's omnipresent and omnipotent. It impacts every area of your career, business, and life.
As good critical thinkers, let's start with a definition.
Negligence is a failure to take proper care of something.
In law, it is a breach of a duty of care that results in damage.
Where do you stand on negligence?
Do you believe some errors are healthy to make?
Where was I recently impacted by negligence?
You probably guessed it: LA fires.
- Were the fire hydrants ready and functional?
- Was there enough water available to fight fires in the most dangerous season on record?
- Were residents given enough time to evacuate, or could that warning have come sooner?
- Were there plans in place that could have made a difference? And if so, were they implemented in time?
There is a reason certain businesses were able to preserve their structures in areas where everything else burned. They had a plan. They were taking their duty of preserving their assets seriously.
I was interviewing a Strategy Skills guest recently, and once the cameras stopped rolling, she asked me about fires. Over the last 3 months, I have learned not to talk to people about fires. Nothing good generally comes from it. And that was no exception. She ended the conversation by saying that everyone tells her, “Who cares about these people. They are rich. They will rebuild.”
Well, many of my neighbours will never be able to rebuild. Many of them lost everything. Some lost their jobs. Others lost their health being exposed to fire fumes and the aftermath of nervous breakdowns. Many of them lost their furry friends because they were not allowed to go back and get them. Others could not withstand the stress and had severe neurological effects, such as the inability to walk without help. Some have nowhere to live and live in shelters with other displaced people. Yes, to this day, many displaced people, those "rich people" our podcast guest was referring to, don't have any stability, merely have basic necessities, and don't know how they will be able to "rebuild" their lives.
I’m incredibly grateful to the fire department workers, police, and emergency responders who gave their all in unimaginable conditions.
At the same time, the experience left me wondering: what happens when systems are strained past their limits? When something, or someone, falls just short of what’s needed?
Growing up in the former Soviet Union, I have seen negligence on a nearly daily basis.
I have seen my History teacher beating a schoolboy with a book, with the boy having to be hospitalized with a severe concussion.
I have seen people dying due to doctors’ negligence. This one hits home severely, as my grandmother died this way. She went to doctor after doctor over the years trying to understand what was wrong with her. She was then diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and died.
Once, if I remember correctly, it was my 16th birthday, I was standing at a bus stop. It was deep winter. Snow and ice everywhere. Many people tried to get on the bus, and someone pushed me. I fell and slid halfway under the bus. The doors closed, and the bus started moving.
That is negligence on the part of the bus driver, who has the responsibility to check if it is safe to start moving. This was also negligence on the part of all the people who were around me, who saw me trying to get from under the bus but sliding back due to ice and did nothing to help.
As the bus wheels started to get near my body, a man pulled me out. My hero. The doors of the bus opened again, and he jumped in before I could thank him. No one asked me if I was ok as I saw the bus drive away.
My father was gallivanting around the city with his mistress (nearly my age) at this time, around the area where I was. That is also negligence. He could have picked me up. He knew how cold it was to stand at a bus stop and then try to squeeze onto a full bus and then stand on that bus for 1.5 hours trying to get home with endless bus stops along the way. If his family was a priority for him, he would have picked me up. If he took his duty as a father seriously, he would have picked me up. At least, on that day, in honor of my birthday. I understand that he was "living his life" and trying to be happy, but what he was doing was also negligence.
Shortly after, a young lady was killed by a bus around the same area, under similar circumstances. The negligence was widespread.
The change has to start with us. Especially for those in professions where negligence means severe damage or death, higher standards should be a requirement, not an option. And in navigating the world, in selecting healthcare providers and nannies for our children, we have to pay attention to a person’s standards, not just qualifications.
If I were hiring a nanny, I would rather hire a straight-A student, someone who demands excellence from themselves, without any child care background, than hire someone who has 20 years of experience with no track record of high standards.
This is not to say that only straight-A students have higher standards. Life circumstances have to be taken into account. It is just one of the indicators that this particular person may be demanding more of themselves than most people do.
Where in your life do you tolerate lower standards than you should?
Who in your life has low standards in a critical area that impacts you?
And should you do something about it?
And where in your work should you level up what you expect of yourself and your team (if relevant)?
Making mistakes is completely normal and healthy. There is a place and time for it. Triple-checking everything can be a huge time-waster. But there are certain things in life where normal standards are not an option. Only the highest standard of care is acceptable.
Within StrategyTraining.com, we groom leaders and business owners to set higher standards where appropriate. Higher standards in terms of value our members bring to their clients. Higher standards in terms of value system. Higher standards when it comes to the level of contribution our members demand of themselves.
Being a person who demands higher standards of oneself is as high a calling as any. And I’m grateful that in our community, we have chosen that path. Not just because of the positive, immediate impact it has but also because of the example we set and the subsequent ripple effect.
Negligence thrives in silence. Standards rise when someone, just one person, chooses not to look away.
In our homes, in our businesses, and in our leadership, let’s be that person.
Not perfect. Not infallible. But committed.
And when we raise the standard for ourselves, we quietly raise it for others around us.
