Lie.

'The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.'

- Abraham Lincoln

In the movie 'Die Hard 2', the villains hijack the air traffic control tower and program the Instrument Landing System to tell approaching aircraft that the runway is 200 feet lower than it actually is. The pilots adjust their landing speed and angle of descent according to the data they're being fed and the aircraft crashes into the truth of the earth.

Our usual response to a bad decision is a lie.

We don't comply with policies. ('It's not relevant to my work.')

We work overtime to compensate for insufficient staffing or resources. ('Others depend on me.')

We smile and rise at the end of a wasteful meeting. ('No, I don't have any questions.')

We keep turning up and doing work we hate. ('I've got a mortgage.')

We send false data back to a decision maker.

Each time we avoid responding truthfully to a decision, we affirm it.

We give an inaccurate position back to the decision maker of the lay of the land.

'All is well!' we declare to them and the organisation.

'Your policies are so practical. Don't change them.'

'Your staffing is appropriate for the Widget. Don't review either.'

'Your meetings give me such useful information. Keep them up.'

'I'm happy in my work. All is well.'

Eventually the boss brings in external consultants to manage team building/performance reviews/change management/work-life balance/staff retention/lunchtime yoga/redundancies.

The most effective way to improve the decision making of others is to respond truthfully to them with a position relative to the Widget.

At least don't lie to yourself.