Blame it on Covid!

Do you remember the Shaggy song from 2000 "It Wasn't Me"? The basic premise of the song is that the protagonist was found "in flagrante" with another woman by his girlfriend, and with no way to explain, he just repeats the refrain "it wasn't me."

I heard this song recently and I began to think how governments, corporations etc. are singing the same song -- "it wasn't me."

Because Covid is to blame for everything, even still, and forever more. Amen.

At the beginning of the pandemic, there was panic. No one understood the extent of the issue, and everything, and I mean everything, was disrupted globally and shortfalls in our systems were exposed by Covid. These deficiencies existed before the pandemic, but like a glacial crevasse, they widened and uncovered the sins of the past.

Despite many of the shortcomings being the result of choices that had been made over the years, (e.g. offshoring, government cutbacks, wage freezes, etc.), we excused them because, well, we were too focused on surviving. We listened to our political and business masters and prayed for a day when we would go back to "normal."

However, businesses and others are and have been engaging in a blame game. And guess what's to blame for everything that ails us -- over 2 years after the pandemic onset?

Covid, of course.

Never have I seen so many willing to accept that forever more, a lack of planning, questionable business and government choices, and so on, will be excused, because "well, you know, it is because of Covid."

Whenever this refrain is said, we all nod knowingly, with empathy in our eyes and say, "Of course, so sad."

But enough!

Let's talk about reality for a moment, because although Covid has caused, and will continue to cause illness and disruptions, a lot of what happened is due to dubious choices made along the way.

Supply Chain Shortages: For years organizations have decided that it is best to: a) offshore everything because of lower costs; b) sole source because of lower costs; c) engage in Just-In-Time Inventory because of lower costs; c) pay your workers the least you can get away with because of lower costs; d) fill in the blank because of lower costs. Very few chose to deep dive into their supply chain, and understand where the weaknesses were or do any type of disaster/contingency planning. The focus has been on driving out costs and in many cases governments gleefully stood by as our domestic manufacturing was gutted, which left us vulnerable to the whims of other nations in critical times.

And you can't blame Covid for this. This started long ago, all in pursuit of greater profit. It is due to a pollyanna attitude that things will always continue as they are, so forward disaster planning? Balanced planning for supply chains? Ah, that is for pessimists!

I have long advocated for near/on/off shore mixing. I have long advocated against sole sourcing. I have long advocated against strict JIT. I have long advocated for disaster planning.

I have long advocated that we have a balanced approach -- balancing profit with probability.

And note that I am not alone in this. It is not that I have a crystal ball, or chose to be Chicken Little crying out that the "sky is falling." But I am a realist, and the signs were clear that the dam was going to bust -- not an if, but a when. And there were many (and still are) potential dam-busting potentials, from lack of capacity at ports, to natural disasters, lack of key commodities, war, etc. I don't think anyone could have predicted the Covid worst case scenario as it was, but even considering a seemingly nearer case could have saved us a lot of grief.

Healthcare: My commentary here will be focused on the government funded Canadian healthcare system, but if you are in a for profit healthcare system, your corporations failed you as well.

For years now, the government has focused on reducing healthcare costs. But with the focus on cuts, vs. re-engineering and innovation, the system itself is left to discern what's best. For a government it is easier to say, "Cut" than engaging in meaningful discussions on how to achieve the desired outcome -- better outcomes for all.

What is the easiest way to become better, longer term at a lower cost? A lot of innovations out there right now will cost more today, but the long term positive impacts in both health outcome and cost are significant.

Reduce services and reduce staff. But of course it is all Covid's fault. Without Covid we would never have seen in countable deaths, and how badly this has been managed over decades.

So are we surprised after putting wage caps on the healthcare staff, that many have chosen to leave the profession? That after struggling to keep us all alive over 2 years, that they are burned out by the demands of their jobs, the risks to their own health, the hours that they have been asked to work, and facing death everyday? Now the government says let's give the healthcare workers a retention bonus or some such, but have they actually looked at the root cause and how this could be mitigated in the future? Nope. Why? Because that would be harder.

Guess what? You weren't voted in, to have an easy, foot-on-the-desk, job.

And long-term care? Well, don't get me started on that, as the lack of oversight, privatization, and poor wages, has resulted in our most vulnerable dying in hoards. This didn't need to happen.

I hope the faces of those who didn't have to die, haunt the politicians at night.

Airlines/Airports/Passports: What have we heard recently from those responsible for these industries? It has been a resounding -- "It's all Covid's fault." I mean who could have predicted that after airlines/airports and passport offices laid off or suggested (pushed) employees into early retirement, that they wouldn't be able to handle going back to pre-pandemic levels?

Where was the planning? Where was the foresight and contingencies against different scenarios? Has anyone heard of forward-planing? Was there a concern that some profit might be lost if the ramp-up started before the pandemic ebbed?

The unions urged the government to boost staffing long before the passport backlog. When the government pleads ignorance, well ignorant is exactly what they were. No planning. No anticipation. But again, the Covid punching bag is near, so let's blame it on Covid.

Or when the government blamed passengers on no longer knowing how to travel, as responsible for the airport backlogs. Well, I guess for once it wasn't Covid, but really? Why weren't the airports staffed up earlier? And sure, people are away because they are sick, possibly with Covid, but really? Don't you have algorithms to play out scenarios?

Air Canada has the dubious distinction of being the worst airline in the world right now for delays. Staff shortages are to blame according to AC, but where was the planning, hiring etc. Was it left to the last minute because of concern about losing a few dollars of profit if it brought on staff too early? Of course, everything is Covid's fault. We would have been living in a world of puppy dogs and rainbows were it not for Covid.

Call Centers: Anywhere you call right now you will get the greeting of "we are experiencing longer than normal wait-times," often still followed by either "due to Covid, many of our staff are working from home," or they just stay due to Covid. The longer than normal wait-times is now the default. I don't think that this is ever altered or changed, it just gives whomever you are calling an excuse. I have recently called a few places that have this message, and guess what? The call has been picked up within a couple of minutes. Makes you wonder what is their "normal?" Microseconds?

There are probably many other examples that you can think of that are not a result of Covid. Organizations and governments need to step up to the fact that choices that they had made in the past came back to haunt them.

And now they need to do a deep dive into what past decisions were made that resulted in these shortfalls, and what can be done in the future to mitigate any type of disaster.

But trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility and just pointing the finger at Covid -- well that is unconscionable.

"It wasn't me, " just doesn't cut if anymore.