A Deformed Strawberry Still Tastes Just As Good - Realizing that the Aesthetics of Safety Rest with Good Results

As a safety professional I have literally spent decades trying to build just the right safety program wherever I have worked. One day we all come to realize that there is a compromise between what our ideal image of that program should be and what actually develops when results are achieved. This article is aimed at describing the rationalization of a sustainable results driven program versus the drive toward a technically perfect program.

Human beings with a solid, work ethic driven personality naturally strive to achieve goals. This is our basest instinct. What happens if one day we realize we have reached a measurable goal but somehow do not recognize it? I would submit that this happens far more often than we tend to admit to such. The title of this article is all about realizing that sometimes "ugly but good" is just as beautiful, just as satisfying, and can be just as sustainable as the idealistic version of the original goals we set for our safety program performance.

Have we not succeeded if we achieve sustainable results? Many times we want to change something because we feel that a measure of improvement is always possible. While this is true, we should first look at what the underpinning conditions are that keep the sustainable progress in place. Yes, we can always add to the compliance aspects of what we do. Yes we can always record more and more data to see where there may be shortcomings. What if we meddle with what is making it work? We all must follow the rules, but sometimes how we achieve that compliance looks different than what we visualized. Unless we are breaking the law or make serious policy violations to get there, where is the foul?

The performance indicators for successful and sustainable safe work were achieved by the many personalities of those involved in making every day come off without injury or incident. Even those personalities that we don't mesh well with. What if you were to announce when and where your next inspection will take place a day ahead of time and miraculously that area and those folks are all compliant and all is in great shape? Does the forewarning matter or does the compliance matter? I believe the real takeaway from this is a three-part learning. First, we learn that the folks being inspected know how to comply and keep everything looking good when they need or want to. Second, The supervision involved can motivate folks to work together to achieve results. And third, it simply doesn't matter that they knew you were coming - the exercise is a learning and compliance tool, not a "gotcha" opportunity. I'll take the compliance aspect all day long and twice on Sunday.

For those reading this article who are operations leaders, understand that the constant frustration that safety managers feel comes not from a "gotcha" mentality, but from a true need to see those sustainable results for the organization. Their professional success rests in the safe work performance of others who do not report to them. When looking at performance from this aspect, we must respect what folks are doing to achieve those positive results. "Ugly but Good" takes on a new meaning when we have repeatable statistically safe work in our organization.

All this being said, once the sustainable safe performance level is reached, the real aesthetic work of programmatic compliance and the better looking strawberry can take place. Being that safety professional who can realize that reaching the goal can be an ugly journey without succumbing to the frustration that leads to the quit stage is key. I have heard this quote attributed to a number of authors, but I believe it was originally penned by Eleanor Roosevelt and illustrates the difference between where we thought we were going and where we should end up - " A good leader doesn't take people where they want to go, but instead brings them where they need to be". Take it from someone who has tried for decades to build palaces out of sand - keeping it looking great is not as important as keeping it stable all year long.