By: Edward Ball
The governor of Indiana made a mistake with RFRA. To be honest we all can, will and do make mistakes so there is no point in acting holier than thou. However, we should benefit in some way from Mike Pence’s mistakes surrounding the RFRA Gate.
The governor made a mistake by not completely understanding the version of the bill he signed off on. Yes there are other similar bills but they aren’t the same.
The governor, like the rest of the world, is subject to bounded rationality-the idea that when individuals make decisions, their rationality is limited by the information they have, the cognitive limitations of their minds, and the time available to make the decision. Because he was subject to these limitations it may have been a possibility that he couldn’t fully understand all things related to SB 101.
This is where it becomes clear how important it is to hire good people. Good people will make sure that anything the governor put his name on is thoroughly researched and understood to a point that bounded rationality would have limited detriment. That is, all of the governor’s trusted employees’ minds should have been working to understand the bill from all angles and become aware of all the possible outcomes of signing the bill. If the governor didn’t or doesn’t have those type of people around him, he made a talent requisition mistake. I would guess he has very smart people in his ear. As a result they simply made a mistake by not completely understanding the RFRA bill and all the possible backlash of the governor’s decision.
One thing we can learn from the governor (thugs, ballers, goons and real aggins listen up) as a result of this RFRA debacle is about pointing fingers. The governor took his ass kicking on the chin. He didn’t blame, tell, or throw anyone under the bus. He took all the heat as if the decision to sign the bill was his and his alone. The governor will see long term benefits form staying loyal to those he kept from getting ran over. He just proved to his friends that he can be trusted.
The three things of value that you should have learned are:
Fully understand whatever you put your name on
Have good smart people around you helping you make optimal decisions and gain better understanding
Don’t point fingers
Do you have good people around you? Do you understand the fine print? Do you take it on the chin?
Below is a link to RFRA, in case you haven’t read it.
https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/senate/101#digest-heading