The TSA and the Kobayashi Maru

I saw an interesting report yesterday about a passenger in San Diego who videotaped an interaction with some TSA employees. Reportedly, the passenger opted out of the backscatter screening, but then threatened to have the screener arrested if he “touched his junk.”

Now, I’m not going to get into the details about this incident. Instead, I would like to address the bigger picture. This most recent report was about the intrusiveness of searches and infringement on privacy.

But on any given day, you may also see headlines such as these two…

• TSA tester slips mock bomb past airport security
• TSA screeners fail most bomb tests

In fact, the second one comes from a site called ‘Homeland Stupidity’.

So, it appears that the TSA has a choice. Be vigorous in its inspection and be blasted for invasion of privacy, or use less rigorous methods, and face the consequences of missing dangerous materials.

This dilemma reminded me of the no-win test, the Kobayashi Maru, used by the Starfleet Academy in Star Trek to test new cadets. Essentially, the fledgling officer has to choose from between two choices, both with bad outcomes.

Unfortunately, the TSA employees are the ones who face this results of this no-win situation every day, not the decision makers. The screeners face thousands of people passing them every day. The majority of passengers seem to have an opinion that either the screeners are being invasive, or are ineffective. Imagine going to work each day knowing that the majority of your customers were not satisfied. I’ve got faith in people, and I think most passengers recognize that the TSA agents are doing a great job in a demanding situation, but that doesn’t mean that they are satisfied with the way security is done.

 Loading ...

In a perfect world, there’d be multiple airports in each city. One would have the no fuss security screening where those that value speed but are willing to take a risk would fly.

At the other airport would be higher ticket cost, longer lines, and thorough searches. But presumably, the safety record would be much better.

You see, in the real world, customers choose what they want, and match themselves to the business that meets their needs the best. In the world of air travel, unless you live in a major market like New York or Chicago, you probably don’t have the option to choose from between multiple airports. And even if you do, you’ll still see TSA uniforms wherever you end up.

So the Lean lesson in all this is to avoid placing your employees in situations where they can’t win. Managers can’t tell their teams to focus on quality, but then get angry when the line stops and hurts productivity. Bosses can’t expect participation in daily improvement, but then punish people for mistakes when the changes don’t work out perfectly.

Nobody wants to go to work at a place where they can’t finish the day feeling like they did a good job. Fortunately, most jobs don’t put people in the position that the public puts the TSA in. But if you are not sure, ask your team to answer these two simple questions anonymously.

1. How do you know at the end of the day if you’ve done a good job?
2. How many days a week do you go home feeling successful?

Hopefully, the answers to these questions won’t be surprising. But if they are, you’ve got some work to do.