Can You Smell the Change?

Smell the rotten eggs

Do you sniff the air for things that don't seem right? For example, many charities lost significant money in the Icelandic banks fiasco, placing large amounts of reserves in accounts that seemed to offer improbably high ROIs. When the golden goose turned out to be barren, they complained loudly. But actually the financial press had been warning for months about the improbability of the accounts in question. Of course the "eggy smell" might be closer to home with a dysfunctional board or a senior staff member performing poorly. If there's a whiff of something going off, take action sooner rather than later.