BP in charge? What is best?

Posted by Jon Miller on Friday, 28 May 2010 at If I were president.

There is a well-understood principle of quality specification that goes like this:

1.              Tell someone (the maker) “how” to make something and you assume responsibility for the quality.

2.              Tell someone what you want made and they have the responsibility for the quality.

(Option two is the recommend approach)

Understanding this principle is a good starting point for formulating government policy in a time such as the BP tragedy in the gulf.  Using the quality principle outlined above, we have two choices:

1.     Intervene if the process with uncertain experts and knowledge clouding the persons of responsibility.

2.     Help BP understand that they alone must “fix it” (stop the flow and repair the ecology and economy).  To augment this, provide additional resources as requested by BP or accepted by BP in a coordinate fashion.

Sounds logical enough?  Yes, but the reality is that educating everyone to understand the logical side is the most challenging task.  Stopping the well is uncertain in time, process and risk.  The factors are scientifically understood as well as the nature of the probability of success, even though the probability estimate is just that, an estimate or educated guess.  The task of educating the public is more daunting.

Yesterday I watched Rick Sanchez, CNN, educate the public to the point that I got sick at my stomach. He agitated the viewer making no attempt to understand that the process of stopping the flow has stages (steps) of injection of mud, measurement, analysis, modification and more mud, etc.).  BP explained this on CNN several times during the day.  Is Rick not listening?  Is Rick not thinking?

Like Rick, we all may be guilty of not listening.  Perhaps this is at the root of many of our problems.

As president, I would seek to improve the quality of our system by leaving the responsibilities established in our Construction where they should be (Executive, Judicial and Legislative).  Then I would level with the American people that the quality of what I may accomplish as President is limited to the process established by Congress and overseen by the judicial system).  Then I would tell the American People that we need their help in being educated in the real facts, thinking, understanding and being patient.

Our final “quality of life” in America is what the people want.  The government should determine how it is achieved and given a chance for the process to work.   If it does not, make an educated change…

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