I came across this wonderful series on a recent flight I took and since the seat’s TV screen is not quite the most comfortable way to watch audiovisual material, I decided to re-watch it at home to have a better appreciation of the series.

Without jumping in the political discussion of left vs. right, democrats vs. republicans, Team Jen vs. Team Angelina, this is a series that everyone should see in order to understand how poor leadership and how unqualified people in high positions can cause major disasters in society. This is something that has happened throughout the entire history of the human race and sadly I must say, that most likely it will keep happening for quite some time. I hope that one day, someone will finally realize the tremendous negative consequences that having a bad leader, a bad CEO, a bad General Manager, a bad Governor or a bad President, has to a company or a country. I really hope that playing politics as a professional skill one day finally ends, and connections and butt-kissing will finally come to an end, and that mediocre leaders managing capable smart employees realize they should step down and let somebody else who actually is qualified, run the business or the country.

I have been lucky that during my professional career I haven’t really ran into these type of corporate profiles. It has only happened twice when I was working in Venezuela. Fortunately, it has never happened to me in the US, Spain, Mexico, Czech Republic or Colombia, though I’m quite sure there
may be a lot of people who have had this issue. Anyway, what I always wondered when I saw those people was the fact that they really, truly believed they were good managers. I remember thinking: “Geez, this guy really thinks he’s good at what he does. How disconnected is he from reality?” Something similar must have gone through the minds of the workers at Chernobyl during the failed safety procedure test they were running that led to the explosion, and through the mind of Professor Legasov, when he met the Soviet Cabinet in Moscow. The series also shows the deep corruption of the communist system
in the USSR, as well as the unbelievable brainwash that took place in the soviet society.

There is a bit of fiction in the series as it’s pretty much the norm in most productions, but they don’t take anything away from the reality of the situation, the management of the crisis, and the factors that took place during the accident and in the days that followed.

Highly recommended.

HR