What is the Achilles' heel?

The Achilles' heel is a phraseology, denoting weakness, vulnerability of any enterprise or person. It can be a personality trait, a feature that spoils life, or imperfection in the organization of the case - all that, one way or another, is a hidden flaw that can suddenly appear and confuse all the cards.

Let's talk about how this expression appeared, what is its original meaning.

The Myth of Achilles

The expression "Achilles' heel" originates in the myth of the post-Homeric era, transmitted by the Roman poet Gigin. It deals with the fate of a great hero named Achilles, who was invulnerable to enemy arrows and swords. The secret of his magic defense was that, when he was a child, his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped him in the waters of the River Styx. She dreamed of making her son immortal and equal to the gods. However, the defense was not complete. During the washing of Achilles in the eternal river, his mother held him by the heel, which remained dry. She was the hidden vulnerability of the hero.

During the siege of Troy, Achilles fought for ten. No wonder, because the weapons could not do him any harm. The Trojans were on the verge of total defeat. But here Apollo stood up for them, angered by the insolence of a mere mortal. He sent an arrow that was released by Paris, exactly in the heel of Achilles, and the hero was defeated.

Since then, the Achilles' heel has meant an inconspicuous and seemingly insignificant feature that could pose a threat to any cause.

Incidentally, the Achilles tendon, named for the hero of the Greek myth, can withstand a load of 400 kg and more and is one of the most vulnerable places of the human body.

Achilles heel of modern enterprise

Let us consider in more detail the concept of hidden vulnerability by the example of modern enterprises.

Any company is a complex system, which means that somewhere there are flaws that are inaccessible to a superficial glance.

Achilles' heel of the firm is a weak place from which the destruction of the whole enterprise can begin.

When an ordinary employee does not pay enough attention to his job duties, he does not know that his carelessness can destroy the whole carefully constructed structure, if by his actions he touches that most painful point.

In order to avoid such risks, most large western and domestic companies pay much attention to the creation of a corporate culture, which contributes to the increase of discipline and motivation of employees.

Any owner of a successful large company needs to understand where this point is located. If, for the time being, he can not strengthen this place, then at least he should pay him special attention.

Each industry has its weak link. For example, it is considered that in aviation the main threat to security is the human factor, that is unreliable and unpredictable people, on which the management of complex machines depends.

Sometimes such a flaw can become an insignificant event, which along the chain can lead to complete collapse. Exodus is almost impossible to foresee, the only way to control such accidents is to introduce preventive measures. For example, the creation of corporate ethics, rules of conduct in various situations and so on.

Achilles' heel - a myth that has been familiar to many since childhood, warns of the danger, which is fraught with excessive carelessness and self-confidence. Any accident, vagueness in contracts can become a weak link and turn into a threat to the life of the enterprise.

Murphy 's law says: "If trouble can happen, it will necessarily happen." So, you can not give this trouble a single chance, you need to be extremely alert.