Let’s talk about the problem rather than solve it. That seems to be the way of the world on far too many issues today.
Last week I was at a leadership summit and one of the takeaways was: Be bold. Don’t wait. Don’t push the issue around the table. Eliminate multiple layers of decision-making.
The point was that if you don’t change, and something at your business is going in the wrong direction, then you’ll continue your decline. The first step in halting the decline or altering your course is a quick and bold step in another direction.
That seems to go without saying, but how often do big companies or governmental agencies do the opposite, instead meandering along, talking about something endlessly, while the problem grows. DO SOMETHING!
This is powerfully reflected in the current drinking water problem in Flint, Michigan. For anyone playing ostrich the past couple of months, and burying your head in the sand, the water in Flint is contaminated with lead (and other hazardous materials) that renders it undrinkable by U.S. standards.
So what’s been happening since the issue has jumped from a statewide one to the national stage? Well, there sure have been a lot of stories. People point fingers. Blame is assessed. Horrible stories are told.
To get this message out, I understand the coverage. But, immediate action can and should be taken (and this should have occurred years ago, with foresight, by the agencies charged with paying attention to local water quality). Sure, bottled water is now arriving regularly to help residents. That’s the finger in the leaking dam.
Immediate and bold action means getting at the source. Change the pipes. Get water flowing from a clean source. Start with the most contaminated homes/areas first.
Will any of these be easy? Who pays? Who does the excavation and replacement work on the pipes? There are certainly many tough questions, ones that should have been answered and addressed years ago.
When the media continues to talk, talk, talk about an incident or situation, nothing is actually occurring on the solution front, and that’s what’s frustrating to the residents in Flint, and it’s what frustrates so many Americans on various public policy issues. We want to see action, and we get talking heads instead.
I would love to see how much money in salaries, travel expenses and management time has been spent on covering the Flint story. Take all that money, and have the media donate it to the cleanup. That would be a multi-million dollar jump start in the right direction. Maybe the media should be part of the financing solution in this way.
Instead, their coverage inflames viewers, leaves us dissatisfied and angered, and creates an unproductive outcome. Think of the wasted money.
As the Presidential campaign moves ahead, the bucks invested by those running for the office and all the media outlets covering the bonanza are stunningly beyond belief. If you add the costs for each candidate, by the time the show is done, the totals will be well over $1 billion. It’s another example of spending on something that doesn’t accomplish much in the real world.
We can only imagine what it costs ALL the media outlets to sustain their coverage during that time. Have the advertisers on the news contribute to the Flint cleanup. That’s better publicity and contributes to the solution.
The media predict, point fingers, raise awareness (and our blood pressure), discover problems. Those are good.
Allocate money and resources to fix problems and stop talking about it! Rant over.
Last week I was at a leadership summit and one of the takeaways was: Be bold. Don’t wait. Don’t push the issue around the table. Eliminate multiple layers of decision-making.
The point was that if you don’t change, and something at your business is going in the wrong direction, then you’ll continue your decline. The first step in halting the decline or altering your course is a quick and bold step in another direction.
That seems to go without saying, but how often do big companies or governmental agencies do the opposite, instead meandering along, talking about something endlessly, while the problem grows. DO SOMETHING!
This is powerfully reflected in the current drinking water problem in Flint, Michigan. For anyone playing ostrich the past couple of months, and burying your head in the sand, the water in Flint is contaminated with lead (and other hazardous materials) that renders it undrinkable by U.S. standards.
So what’s been happening since the issue has jumped from a statewide one to the national stage? Well, there sure have been a lot of stories. People point fingers. Blame is assessed. Horrible stories are told.
To get this message out, I understand the coverage. But, immediate action can and should be taken (and this should have occurred years ago, with foresight, by the agencies charged with paying attention to local water quality). Sure, bottled water is now arriving regularly to help residents. That’s the finger in the leaking dam.
Immediate and bold action means getting at the source. Change the pipes. Get water flowing from a clean source. Start with the most contaminated homes/areas first.
Will any of these be easy? Who pays? Who does the excavation and replacement work on the pipes? There are certainly many tough questions, ones that should have been answered and addressed years ago.
When the media continues to talk, talk, talk about an incident or situation, nothing is actually occurring on the solution front, and that’s what’s frustrating to the residents in Flint, and it’s what frustrates so many Americans on various public policy issues. We want to see action, and we get talking heads instead.
I would love to see how much money in salaries, travel expenses and management time has been spent on covering the Flint story. Take all that money, and have the media donate it to the cleanup. That would be a multi-million dollar jump start in the right direction. Maybe the media should be part of the financing solution in this way.
Instead, their coverage inflames viewers, leaves us dissatisfied and angered, and creates an unproductive outcome. Think of the wasted money.
As the Presidential campaign moves ahead, the bucks invested by those running for the office and all the media outlets covering the bonanza are stunningly beyond belief. If you add the costs for each candidate, by the time the show is done, the totals will be well over $1 billion. It’s another example of spending on something that doesn’t accomplish much in the real world.
We can only imagine what it costs ALL the media outlets to sustain their coverage during that time. Have the advertisers on the news contribute to the Flint cleanup. That’s better publicity and contributes to the solution.
The media predict, point fingers, raise awareness (and our blood pressure), discover problems. Those are good.
Allocate money and resources to fix problems and stop talking about it! Rant over.