The Trouble with Sustainability
Shawn M. Galloway
CEO of ProAct Safety, Inc., Trusted Advisor, Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker & Expert Witness
What else can we do? What other things are out there that we can implement to help us improve safety? What are those guys/gals doing over there? XYZ process worked for us at my last company, so why not try that? I just heard about this new approach to… sound familiar? We all have heard Einstein's advice: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." He didn't mean to do things completely different. He meant that we shouldn't expect improvement with zero variation from today's practices.
Of course, we should continue to mature our thinking, seek better practices and increase capacity to safely deal with the work as it actually is performed, but that doesn't mean throwing out what we have done to search for the next hot or shiny new approach or tool. The question should be, "How can we do better with our approaches to improve safety performance and safety culture," not, "How can we do more?" Unless you are still stuck in 1980's or 90's safety thinking, more is rarely the answer. Better is.
So, what is the trouble with sustainability? We leaders are impatient and easily distracted, desiring to do something different. The problem is that we disengage the very people whose engagement is critical for our success. We can fail less with our safety performance and lose the engagement battle. When this happens, guess what else isn't sustainable? Safety performance and retention rates. Don't just search for the next best or better practice; seek also to better the current practices by involving those affected by them.
I hope to see you at one of the 2024 events!
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Shawn M. Galloway is CEO of the global consultancy ProAct Safety. He is a trusted advisor, professional speaker, and author of several bestselling books on safety strategy, culture, leadership, and employee engagement. He is one of the industry's most award-winning and recognized prolific contributors. In addition to seven books, Shawn is a magazine columnist and has authored over 400 articles and 100 videos. He also launched the first safety podcast, Safety Culture Excellence, with over 700 episodes. He has received awards and recognition for his significant contributions from the American Society of Safety Professionals, National Safety Council's Top 40 Rising Stars and Top Ten Speakers, EHS Today Magazine's 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS, ISHN Magazine's POWER 101 – Leaders of the EHS World and their newest list: 50 Leaders for Today and Tomorrow, Pro-Sapien's list of The Top 11 Health and Safety Influencers and is an Avetta Distinguished Fellow. To join Shawn at one of his public or private events, visit ProActSafety.com/Events
HSE Manager
1 年Excellent reminder!
As usual Shawn M. Galloway you remain on top of your industry. Like Benchmarking in the Security World, I see some parallels in your sustainability discussion in the safety community. In the limited thinker’s minds both discourage innovation in some ways by either using other people’s ideas or trying to go beyond their existing environments to find what works instead of improve its efficiency. Applying someone else’s best practice reminds me of the OJ Glove argument, “If it don’t fit acquit.” You say, “Don't just search for the next best or better practice; seek also to better the current practices by involving those affected by them.”. It almost looks like the new has more appeal than the improvement.
Mentor | Status Quo Challenger | Culture Caretaker
1 年Hey, Shawn. Couldn't agree more. "Flavour of the Day" (Canadian spelling) is is most often met with eye rolls, skepticism, and comments of "... justifying their job". Nothing wrong with continuous improvement; just don't throw out the baby with the bath water and don't lose your audience.
AGM HSEF & IMS | NEBOSH, GRADIOSH, NEBOSH PSM
1 年I am avid reader of your article . Always look forward to publication of your new article