Gonsoulin has been a member of PRSA for nearly 20 years and has served on the Board of Directors for both the Houston and Los Angeles chapters. In Houston, she chaired the Excalibur Awards for four years, among other committees. In Los Angeles, she has served on the PRISM Awards committee and has drafted the awards presentation script for the last two years.

What struck me most was in the willingness to lay politics and egos aside to find the fastest, “best practices” solution possible and to work together with others on solving the problem itself. BP had many offers from outside organizations and individuals who were all experts in capping wells, deep water issues, etc. but they were completely unwilling to accept these offers of help for either ego reasons, political or legal concerns, or some other ridiculous excuse. Chile, on the other hand, accepted offers of help from outside experts, including NASA, and it’s what enabled them to get a speedy, reliable solution to the problem that helped to fuel this incredibly positive outcome.

Another area where the two organizations diverged was in speed to respond and organization. BP labored under bureaucracy and recriminations and wasted valuable time in marshalling resources to fix the problem and its devastating effects. Chile, faced with a more visible or tangible sense of urgency – lives at stake – moved mountains, figuratively speaking, to get their crisis resolved in a way that would give them the best opportunity for a good outcome. They got organized and you saw the benefits of that in the absolutely seamless way in which those miners were rescued as they emerged one by one. They had thought of everything, including every possible challenge or issue that could arise, in preparing for this moment and it showed.

While you could go on and on in comparing the two disasters, suffice to say the lessons gleaned from watching this tiny country handle the biggest moment in its history were underpromising and overdelivering, being transparent, communicating often, anticipating every scenario and planning for it, and putting egos aside to focus on the problem at hand. Kudos, Chile. Hopefully the world will take a page from your book.

As I read about his belief that shows like “19 and Counting” were sending a very disturbing message about the ramifications of extreme procreation  and that “Planet Earth” (which I thought was great) might actually hold a counter consumerism message, it did cause me to ponder that point of view.  Whatever thought-provoking reaction he might have had, however, was completely erased when he fell into the rantings and behaviors of a mad man.

For those who hold passionate beliefs and want to reach, and influence, large numbers of people with their ideological – and even business – messages, you must come from a place of credibility. That credibility is built on or earned by a track record of authenticity and sound reason.  The minute you allow desperation to creep into your voice and behavior, you lose all ground that you gained.

1) She can control the situation visually.  We’ve all seen the awkward or downright cringe-worthy moments in TV interviews where the subject is pinned down by the reporter and it’s clear that there is no way to emerge with any dignity.

2) She can get the whole story out in her words without the heavy-handed editing that goes with the TV territory

3) By making it clear that she would only give one interview, she pretty definitively shuts down the interview requests, and by giving an interview she puts to rest a lot of the speculation and hounding she’s been experiencing

4) She helps her own reputation by appearing to take the high road, thereby coming away with more dignity and class

Many will have little empathy for her knowing the size of her settlement but money is still cold comfort when you’ve been through the kind of very public embarassment and loss of the life and family as you knew it that she has been through. I have to give her credit for how she’s handled things.

Check out an article I wrote for the Bulldog Reporter on the wisdom of starting – and successfully running – your own business.