The blame stops here!

No, it’s not always someone else’s fault!! It’s time we got rid of the blame culture, which makes it so difficult to resolve problems!

Lately there has been a lot of discussion in the media about what it means to be an Australian. I would have thought that one of the characteristics that defined our nation, particularly in our early history, was strength of character and resilience that enabled the pioneers to deal with very with a tough and very challenging continent characterised by flood, fire and distance.

I think that there are still a very large number of Australians who value character and personal honesty, responsibility and strength; but there does seem to be a growing sentiment that whatever happens can be blamed on someone else!

Recently I dared to write that taking responsibility for one’s health and fitness was an essential part of living a productive life in the many roles we have to play. This idea caused a lot of discussion!

I notice also in businesses with unhealthy cultures, there is a tendency to blame someone else. It is very hard to get things done in a culture of blame, where the buck stops nowhere, making problems hard to resolve!

How frustrating and difficult is it to find someone to take responsibility in many large organisations (“dial 1 for… dial 2 for… etc)!!! Last week I spent an hour on the phone to my internet provider trying to resolve an issue with my emails and finally found someone who said I can help you!!! Someone who said I will stay on the phone until we sort this out!!

Wow!!!! These were the best words I have ever heard from that organisation!!!

Why do we sometimes feel so powerless when we have more information and education than ever in the history of man? I suggest that we can take back our power by taking responsibility (for the good and the bad) in this way we can get control back in our lives and businesses and stop blaming the government or any institution over which we have little control!

Really the journey to achieving success is just through making a series of corrections; everyone makes mistakes, the key is simply to not keep making the same ones. As the saying goes: if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results!!

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