By Ben Dattner, Free Press, $26.00, 245 pages
Management is about more than being able to find out where the mistakes happened; it’s about knowing how to fix them so that they don’t happen again. The Blame Game explores why a manager should not only not shoot the messenger, but should fully interrogate him. The book shows that mistakes should not only be expected, but that if looked beyond a simple blame game those mistakes can be used to actually move projects ahead. Better yet, they can be used to actually build company morale rather than tearing it down.
Although it can get a little pedantic in spots, and those spots do seem to come with some frequency, they are quickly read through. The book is a fun read for those looking for solutions to common problems, and how unimportant ultimately most mistakes are. Obviously, an employee that tends to make a lot of mistakes is not going to last, and The Blame Game does not preach complete forgiveness, but rather to allow for the occasional blunder. For company owners, or potential owners, that are looking for ways to deal with what appears to be too many mistakes, this is a great book.
Reviewed by Jamais Jochim