Recently a Hawaiian civil defense employee sent an emergency alert that a ballistic missile threat was headed for Hawaii, and that residents should seek shelter. It was a mistake, a human error. Panic ensued and it took 38 minutes to correct the error. Predictable questions were asked about who should be disciplined for messing up. But what questions should have been asked about the event?
Initial information reported that the worker sent the alert by a single misstep of selecting “Missile Alert” instead of “Test Missile Alert” from a drop-down list and sending. The employee was reassigned pending the investigation -- pretty clearly signaling tentative assignment of blame, rather than analyzing the event to find out how it was possible for it to occur. Let’s think about what happens when we follow the “ready, fire, aim” approach disciplinary action.