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THE NEW WORK PLAYBOOK · September 17 · 30 min

The Blame Machine

Why We Blame People for Decisions They Never Made In this episode: Why we judge decisions by their results, and how outcome bias and hindsight bias shape both our self-perception and how organisations review what happened. One company, one system, two scenarios: what gets examined when it works, and what gets examined when it doesn't. The difference between taking accountability and being held accountable, and why most management advice focuses on the harder-to-justify one. The four conditions in organisations and the four human patterns that keep the blame machine running. What AI amplifies, why it's the perfect place to put blame, and why leadership has to change the conditions so it doesn't become the norm. Connect with me: LinkedIn Instagram Website Sources: Baron, J., & Hershey, J. C. Outcome bias in decision evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1988, 54(4). Harter, J., & Tatel, C. Accountability is leadership’s greatest weakness. Gallup, 19 March 2026. Edmondson, A. C. Strategies for learning from failure. Harvard Business Review, 2011, 89(4). Orgvue. 55% of businesses admit wrong decisions in making employees redundant when bringing AI into the workforce. Orgvue, 29 April 2025. CNBC. Employers who laid off workers citing AI are already starting to regret it. CNBC, 1 July 2026. Glean Work AI Institute. Work AI Index 2026. Glean, 10 June 2026.

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Why We Blame People for Decisions They Never Made

In this episode:

  • Why we judge decisions by their results, and how outcome bias and hindsight bias shape both our self-perception and how organisations review what happened.
  • One company, one system, two scenarios: what gets examined when it works, and what gets examined when it doesn't.
  • The difference between taking accountability and being held accountable, and why most management advice focuses on the harder-to-justify one.
  • The four conditions in organisations and the four human patterns that keep the blame machine running.
  • What AI amplifies, why it's the perfect place to put blame, and why leadership has to change the conditions so it doesn't become the norm.

Connect with me: LinkedIn

Instagram

Website

Sources: Baron, J., & Hershey, J. C. Outcome bias in decision evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1988, 54(4). Harter, J., & Tatel, C. Accountability is leadership’s greatest weakness. Gallup, 19 March 2026. Edmondson, A. C. Strategies for learning from failure. Harvard Business Review, 2011, 89(4). Orgvue. 55% of businesses admit wrong decisions in making employees redundant when bringing AI into the workforce. Orgvue, 29 April 2025. CNBC. Employers who laid off workers citing AI are already starting to regret it. CNBC, 1 July 2026. Glean Work AI Institute. Work AI Index 2026. Glean, 10 June 2026.

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