The Blame Game

Watching Australia burn is something I never dreamed possible. It is heartbreaking, horrifying and disturbing. No one could fail to be touched by this catastrophe.
As usual, humans look for blame and as always we find someone to whom we point the finger. Somehow it seems to make us feel better.

As a marketing professional, I can easily relate to this because throughout my career I saw so many businesses adopt the same attitude – when things go wrong, look for someone else to blame.

This blog is not a defence for anyone or anything, rather it is a plea for common sense. In all my 50 odd years of marketing, I never saw a business that blamed others for its failures, become successful. Why?

In my opinion, it is a simple matter of accepting responsibility. Owning the issue. Because when we own the failure we recognise our weaknesses and we have the ability to grow, learn and resolve.

Nothing is achieved by laying blame. When you point the finger, there are three fingers pointing back at you.

In marketing, we look for weaknesses, not strengths. By owning our weaknesses we can turn our lemons into lemonade.

These fires should give us a burning desire to look at ourselves and ask what part did we play, or will we play in making things right.