If the war in Ukraine were being waged by a commercial organization, would it be waged more effectively? I’m afraid it would look more like this.
A big presentation every quarter, highlighting achievements, reminding us of the excellent press coverage and reminding us of the great reputation. This would naturally result in growing investor confidence, so that management would be rewarded with maximum bonuses. And another quarter over and over again. Whatever the overall state of the battlefield, there is always some positive information.
So after two years, slight doubts would start to appear, but when management employs real communication professionals, they can quell those doubts. So management bonuses keep coming and coming. Even if it blows up one day, they’ll have saved for generations.
And there’s still the possibility that if the directors are smart enough, they’ll get out in time, so then it will be said: “it worked perfectly under CEO X. It was only after he left that the problems started.” And he gets a job at another corporation with even better bonuses.
The debacle in Ukraine is also terrible because we see the kind of decision-making that prevails in all sectors in the West. It is just a little more visible there than elsewhere. Which, among other things, explains why the big corporations did not stop the Green Deal in time. There was a time when they had the power and money to do so. They could have squashed the crazy activists. But why embark on such a risky venture when the next quarter’s bonuses will come one way or another.