Laying Blame vs Creating a Solution

Interesting that in the last day I have come across two different references to this topic.
That of people wanting to lay blame on someone else - when something goes wrong.

The first was an excellent blog post by Perry Marshall called - "BP, the oil spill, and the urge to crucify…. somebody"

The second was something that happened just last night on the news.

The context for this story, is that we've just survived a nasty flash-flood event here in Whakatane (a ridiculous 100mm of rain in under an hour) which has resulted in a number of unfortunate residents homes getting flooded.

One of these residents was interviewed on the news, and remarked how the "Whakatane Council" was responsible for the flooding in her home.

Sure she was upset.
Sure her garage and house were flooded.

....But laying blame didnt make the situation any better. (although it's human nature to do so at times of stress)

To be fair - the council here have, and are doing an amazing job with the resources they have.

• They mobilised within hours a full evacuation centre for +- 50-70 people whose houses were flooded.
• They managed to open all the roads within 12 hours of the storm.
• They've been up all night co-ordinating rescue and clean-up efforts.

As Perry Marshall says perhaps the answer is :

"Don’t fix the blame. Fix the problem."

So I challenge you to look at the challenges, speed-bumps and problems in your life/ business. And rather than dwelling on the negative/ and perhaps blaming something outside of your control for them - ask yourself....

"What can I do right now to start to solve the problem."

Even it's one small thing - then start with that.
It's a lot more empowering, positive and creative.