In this blog I try and present ideas that would give people an opportunity to discuss options, to make choices. Everything we do is decisionable, and we are frequently on autopilot. But if we learn to make the best decisions with each action we take, when the moment of decision is quick we will have…
Tag Archive: people
Do You Motivate With Fear or Reward?
I like a good safety incentive as much as the next person. Although I haven’t kept them all, I would guess I have received dozens of items ranging from imprinted pens, flashlights, and portfolios to jackets, gift cards and parking spaces. Each one of them was designed to be a reminder of the importance of…
You ARE the Culture!
Company Culture. Our safety culture. The culture of the team. These are all frequently cited as the reason programs succeed or fail. And yet many safety programs are aimed at affecting the culture. Changing attitudes and actions. Culture is, in a way, a misleading word. It is a collective noun. It represents a collection of…
Unemployment Hearing or Funeral?
Several weeks ago, I wrote about a Culture of Challenge. This is a concept of an open organization where it is OK, or even required, to confront actions which you think could be done more safely. A corresponding attribute needed in a culture of challenge is Courage. It might not seem to be a brave…
A Motive For Safety
A friend of mine recently complained that the phrase “Our employees are our most valuable asset” is among the most overused in business today. After thinking about that, along with the references to “human capital”, I had to disagree. It appears overused, but in reality it is misused. Too many bosses think it is an…
Are You Interested in an Armor Upgrade?
As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I spent part of the weekend at Dragon*Con, a convention for enthusiasts of all things science fiction, comics, role playing, fantasy, computer gaming and more. It was intriguing, to say the least, to see people walking around with weapons of all sorts. By policy, all weapons had to be…
All Weapons Must Be Non-Working and Peace Bound
For two days this weekend I attended DragonCon, a Labor Day Weekend fixture in Atlanta. This event includes everything from guest appearances by actors and creators of science fiction, fantasy, anime, role playing games, to a massive parade on Saturday morning with costumes more elaborate than the best Halloween party you ever attended. The post…
Please Pack Your Knives and Go Home
In over thirty years, I have conducted my share of termination meetings. Some due to layoffs, some as a result of shutdowns, some disciplinary, and some due to failure of fit. I think that’s why I seem to be drawn to some of the current reality shows. I feel drawn to the process by which…
Bringing the Whole Package
If you are a regular reader of mine, you know that I have been writing about various traits that we all bring to the workplace to varying degrees. These ideas, developed in the book A Kick in the Seat of the Pants have worked well for me over the years. Essentially, the concept is simple….
5 Things to Pay Attention to After Major Family Events
I used to participate in community theater, maybe even obsessively. When you do this, there is a period of about 2-3 weeks that is incredibly busy with rehearsals, line and staging memorization, getting costumes in order, and trying to remember to do your regular life duties at the same time. In short, it gets hectic….
