Blame game

The Blame game is an ugly game played by people who are scared.

If you’re trying to do meaningful work and the game comes up, here are the rules:

• Ricochet: If a finger is pointed at you, be sure to deflect onto somebody else. Bonus points if they aren’t paying attention, or aren’t part of the conversation.
• Poker face: If you mess up during this game, be sure to not let anybody know. You lose points if you’re found out, instead of owning up to a mistake and using it as an opportunity to show your greatness.
• The winner is the loser: The best player learns how to make good excuses, makes his/her colleagues doubt their integrity and, worst of all, gets better at playing the Blame game.

It’s a lousy game. You probably shouldn’t play it.