Nyakati za mafanikio, watu wanapenda kuhusishwa na kudai pongezi, hata kama mchango wao ulikuwa mdogo. Lakini mambo yanapoharibika, watu wanakimbia na hulaumiana. Hii ndo maana ya methali "Ushindi una baba wengi, kushindwa ni yatima." (Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.)

Kwa mfano, fikiria kama umepokea pesa za wawekezaji ili kuanzisha biashara. Biashara ikifanikiwa, wawekezaji wataiona kama mafanikio yao, wataiita "biashara yetu", na itakuwa rahisi sana kutafuta wawekezaji wengi zaidi. Lakini ikiwa biashara imefeli, wawekezaji wako wataiita "biashara yako" na kuomba urudishe pesa zao.

Mara nyingi unaweza kutambua kiongozi halisi wa biashara, shirika au kikundi kwa kuona ni nani anayewajibika nyakati za changamoto na matatizo. Kiongozi bora ni yule ambaye anashiriki sifa na pongezi na wenzake nyakati za kufanikiwa, na anakubali kuwajibika na kulaumiwa nyakati za kushindwa.

Methali hii ilitumika na Rais wa Marekani, John F. Kennedy, mwaka wa 1961, akiongea na waandishi wa habari baada ya mgogoro wa "Bay of Pigs". Lakini inaonekana kwamba chanzo halisi cha methali hii ni cha kale zaidi... inatoka Mwanahistoria wa Roma ya Kale aliyeitwa Tasitus, katika biografia ya jenerali Agrikola kilichoandikwa miaka 98 baada ya kuzaliwa Kristo, akieleza changamoto ambazo jeshi la Roma lilikabiliana nazo katika ukoloni wa Uingereza. 

Je umewahi kuona mfano wa methali hii katika maisha yako? Tunaomba mawazo yako!

When a project is successful, people want to be associated with it and claim credit, even if their contribution was small. But when things go wrong, people tend to point fingers and downplay their involvement.

For example, suppose you take money from investors to start a business. If the business makes a lot of money, your investors might try to claim your success as their own, calling it "our business", and you will find it easy to raise money from many more investors. But if the business is a failure, your investors will probably call it "your business" and ask you to return their money.

You can often tell who is the real leader of a business, organization or group by observing who takes responsibility when things go poorly. A great leader shares the credit with others when the group has success, and takes the blame when the group fails.

This proverb is often incorrectly attributed to John F. Kennedy, who used it at a press conference after the Bay of Pigs. In fact, it seems to originate from the ancient Roman Historian, Tacitus, in his biography of Agricola, explaining the challenges that the Roman army faced in conquering Britain.

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