The more I hear about the Florida election recount the more some officials seem like petulant teenagers who can only come up with reasons why something won’t work instead of considering other options for how it could.
I understand that it must be a massive job to recount 8 million ballots for three races, but saying it is “impossible” to do by the deadline isn’t exhibiting much creative thinking. Couldn’t the small counties send their machines to the large counties when they are finished or maybe some neighboring states could share? Or perhaps the company who makes the machines provide some emergency assistance. And who said it had to be just the election workers doing the recount: couldn’t a temporary crew be brought in to the metropolitan areas to aid in the task?
Since it is a critical task that has implications for Florida and beyond, it would seem that if they really wanted the ballots to be counted by Thursday they could marshal the resources to get it done.
The next time you or your organization is faced with a daunting task, look beyond the usual ways to solve it. Don’t tell people that you can’t get something done; instead, tell them what you need to accomplish the task within the extraordinary parameters. Unprecedented circumstances require solutions and options that may have not been feasible in ordinary times but can become available to address extreme situations.
