"This organisation does not tolerate failure". It's not a catchphrase that's ever likely to catch on in the same way as I didn't do it or Where's the beef?, but it's the closest to an iconic quote that the usually stoic Blofeld gets. It's also an accurate summation of SPECTRE's philosophy, borrowed from the Chinese Triads and the Japanese Yakuza the organisation was initially inspired by when Fleming created them. They aren't big on second chances or rehabilitation, which is why they've managed to get through so many members in their relatively scant few appearances in the Bond novels and films. As soon as one of them disappoints - usually after an encounter with 007 - they don't get a chance to make it up to them. More likely is that they're dealt with, swiftly and permanently. SEPCTRE survives due to especially brutal process, never allowing weakness to infect the rest of the organisation, to let one bad apple ruin everything for the rest of them. They're notoriously draconian, with the penalty for failure or even just plain disobedience being death. Supernanny would probably recommend the naughty step before resorting to such methods, but then she probably would also advise against techniques like Blofeld's favoured trick of pretending he's about to eliminate one henchman, only to turn his fire (or pit full of piranhas if he's feeling frisky) on another oblivious employee.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
