The BP Oil Spill, The Blame Game & Redemption

While I put myself out there as a professional sales trainer and email marketing system expert with a penchant for Infusionsoft, I’m also a husband, a father, a Cajun from Baton Rouge and an American sick and tired of the hype and the finger-pointing and the blame games and the excuses and the excessive regulations passed by self-serving politicians who only come out of their plush trappings for photo ops solely for self preservation of their coveted political seat.

The media is covering this disaster 24/7 and politicians are more than happy to jump in with their coats off, sleeves rolled up, brows furrowed and say “there will be investigations…there will be new regulations…there will be law suits…the evil pigs at BP will pay for this…we will stop all drilling…we will move forward with green energy…we will make things right…”

WHATEVER.

Look, this disaster should be investigated and if laws / procedures / regulations were broken / not followed then hang the responsible parties up by their toes and have them suck the oil from the marshes with a straw until they get it all up.

In the meantime, though, let’s calm down for a moment and figure out how to fix this mess.

I’m sure that not one single person working on the rig, working back at the refinery or at the headquarters of BP woke up April 20th and said, “Things have been pretty boring around here. Let’s blow up a rig today.”

This was an accident. A big accident. Maybe an avoidable accident. But an accident nonetheless.

We’ve all made them. And we’ve all been appreciative of those that had the grace and the dignity and the empathy to forgive us and help us resolve the situation and give us the opportunity to make restitution for our mistakes.

Imagine how much faster things COULD be resolved if everyone shut their pie holes for a moment and said “Let’s focus on fixing this issue to minimize its impact on the world. Once things are fixed and calm we’ll investigate how it happened to hold people accountable and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Imagine how relieved the BP workers would be. Imagine how relieved the engineers would be. Imagine how much more creative and focused they could be if they weren’t – literally – looking over their shoulders at every turn worried about – literally – being attacked or killed by some wacko environmentalist who things humans are evil (unless you are a donor) and want us all (but not themselves) to live in caves wearing olive branches.

Since 2002 there have been over 24,000 offshore oil wells drilled without incident. One disaster out of 24,000 attempts is a pretty good track record. (One out of 1,000,000 would be better.)

Sure, all of those fishermen and seafood wholesalers, retailers and restaurant owners in my home state are hurting. But they, and many other Cajuns, have also benefited from the oil industry for at least a century. My great-grandfather worked for Esso, the international trade name of Exxon, and retired from there with a nice fat pension that enabled him to live a comfortable life up to the ripe old age of 96.

Most of them understand the oil spill is an accident. The phrase “Southern hospitality” is real. People down South are nice and hospitable. (They’ll also punch you in the nose when you’re rude, so mind your manners.) They would rather the rest of nation and the world help them find a solution rather than find a culprit.

Yelling at people that make mistakes may make you feel better in a self-righteous sorta way but it does nothing to make things better.

  • Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 3)

  • Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. (Verse 4)

  • Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Verse 5)

  • Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (Verse 6)

  • Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Verse 7)

  • Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (Verse 8 )

  • Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Verse 9)

  • Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 10)

Keep those in mind as you watch this BP situation evolve and ask yourself how you would like to be treated.

If you need more help growing your sales, check out the following resources scattered around this site and a few others I operate, such as:

Good Selling,