Unintended Consequences

Sometimes when executives go out in to the world, they are oblivious to the consequences of their actions. When a CEO decides to rub elbows with the "hands" offshore, a whole chain of events is put in motion. A special helicopter will be chartered. The platform will undergo a "beautification project" which takes the guys away from productive work (and adds cost). All "dirty" operations are postponed. The cost of all this adds up but the executive is not aware of it, or just doesn't care.

I once knew a construction supervisor, who when faced with a pending visit from the CEO, negotiated with the shipyard to spray a "cosmetic coat" of paint on the rig so that the color would be uniform and not the patchwork of shades that comes with paint sprayed on at different times. The problem was that they thinned the paint so much that it bubbled the paint below it causing a major do over.

It seems Obama suffers from a similar syndrome. When the President decides to go walkabout, he triggers road closures and all manner of local havoc. His vacation in Hawaii shut down the operation of several tourist flight sightseeing operations. They are now trying to recover their lost income from the government. The link is here.

And that's probably a few more votes he won't get in the next election.