The Death Star was touted as the “ultimate power in the universe.” But a few proton torpedoes managed to destroy the entire station. It didn’t make into the trilogy, but I assume there would have been an ensuing investigation that would have looked at the failures that lead to loss. At least I imagined there must have been while my family was re-watching the Star Wars movies in anticipation of this week’s premiere of Episode VII.
The entire series starts with Darth Vader pursuing Leia Organa because she has gotten her hands on the technical readouts for the Death Star. If the Empire was so sure that the battle station was invincible, it would not have been so concerned. At least you would think so. But perhaps it’s just a plot device.
Grand Moff Tarkin, who had overseen the construction of the Death Star, dismisses the idea that the moon-sized battle station is at risk from an attack by small fighters. He is right. The risk is very small. It was a small, shielded exhaust port. he shot “was impossible, even for a computer.”
The first attack run resulted in the destruction of the fighters. The second attack run hit the target but merely impacted on the surface. It is only the Luke Skywalker with his Force assisted attack that manages to hit the difficult target correctly. T
Of course the outcome is catastrophic so there was clearly a mistake in the design of the station.
The Emperor was not happy and began a culling at the highest ranks of the Empire, executing officials such as Moff Coovern and Minister Khemt, believing that their incompetence was partly to blame for the station’s annihilation. That does not sound like great way to run a “lessons learned” post-action review.
We don’t know if the design was improved for the Death Star II. It too was destroyed, but under different circumstances. It was, in part, constructed as trap to destroy the Rebel Alliance. The Emperor left it appearing vulnerable, when it was in fact fully operational, with the a huge portion of the Imperial Fleet hidden nearby. The flaw was in the Emperor’s plan by overlooking the capabilities of the local Ewoks.
In the end, I say it was not a compliance failure, it was a governance failure. The Emperor ran his organization through fear, using Darth Vader to intimidate of kill those dared question the Emperor. Grand Moff Tarkin executed the Emperor’s orders, creating a massive battle station that could destroy planets and star cruisers. But they overlooked the small things. And that lead to their downfall.
I don’t think the Emperor would have tolerated a compliance program. Unless you view Darth Vader as the CCO.
It was the arrogance of the top leadership failed to see the risks and thought they could see everything, unaware of their blind spots.
If you want more Star Wars and compliance mash-ups, check out Tom Fox’s posts this week: