Hindsight: Theory and Task?

Strange perhaps but the recent Tasker and Theo story (see below) gave me another catalyst for more management musing, after contemplating the realities and emotional aspects of it of course…

As regular readers will be aware; I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about why stuff goes wrong but more often, if it had been managed in a different way, would the eventual outcome have been any better than it turned out to be? Wouldn’t it be great if we could all fully understand and predict the significance and nature of events prior to them actually occurring?

I don’t know about you but I’ve often found theory and task juxtaposed, a factor actually exacerbated when, the theorists actually have little cognisance of (or interest in) the final task. Sometimes it makes you wonder, what was the thought process applied to the end product and if so, because there is so much difference, was that original process flawed in any way? But before I continue with another soapbox missive on politicians, public sector and police service management, back to the catalyst…

If you haven’t heard about L/Cpl Liam Tasker and his loyal dog Theo, where have you been? I have no wish to detract from the importance of the story, or indeed the distress and loss felt by L/Cpl Tasker’s family however; all forms of the media have been pouring out heart string tugging stuff for days, mostly for commercial reasons no doubt but I digress… Why not let Gadget enlighten you about this tale of love and devotion between a man and his dog fighting for your freedom…

POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG: Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. What got me about this tragedy was how Theo… Read More

There were many poignant and apt comments to Gadget’s post however, the one that struck a chord with me was…

Surely enough is enough. Am ex-forces so in no way am I decrying the bravery of the troops out there. But look at the society we have become that they are ‘defending’.

Celebrity nobodys with massive ego’s, lying and corrupt politicians, mega-rich footballers with no morals, greedy arrogant bankers, career criminals, drug addicts who believe they are ‘victims’ rather than criminals for taking drugs, religious nutcases who threaten our way of life, threaten our lives, just because they think their version of god is right.

L/Cpl Tasker and all the rest are heroes. Not just for their bravery and their sacrifice, but for keeping alive the hope that humanity will not succumb to the morals and lifestyle of the few listed above.

As Gadget said on the above story; “This is service to the nation and respect to each other. RIP.”

Whilst throwing these topics around remember; many of us have the inclination to see events that have occurred as being more predictable than they were before they actually took place…

“The wisdom of hindsight, so useful to historians and indeed to authors of memoirs, is sadly denied to practicing politicians” (Margaret Thatcher)

Related Articles

• Two heroes return home today, Cpl Liam Tasker and his dog Theo, may they rest in peace… (dearengland.wordpress.com)
• BBC News – Dead soldier Liam Tasker and Army dog return home (jamespatrick1.wordpress.com)
• UK Bomb-sniffing Army dog dies of a broken heart after his soldier-handler, Corporal Liam Tasker, is killed by the Taliban By Ian Drury (theboldcorsicanflame.wordpress.com)
• Dog lovers gather for repatriation of soldier and spaniel from Afghanistan (telegraph.co.uk)