In yesterday’s link roundup post I linked to an article about communication strategies within a geographically disparate team that made mention of Hanlon’s Razor.
I’ve known my boss’ boss’ boss to express this in different words:
“Nobody gets out of bed and comes into work in the morning just to screw you over.”
It’s good to know that there’s a name for this concept I can reference, and also an alternative wording I can use to make it appropriate for all audiences:
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by ignorance.”
Wikipedia also teaches me that Sir Bernard Ingham coined an even more succinct version:
“Cock-Up Before Conspiracy.”