Deer in the Headlights Part 2
Here’s the short scoop on what was covered in part 1…
I’m on a plane to Kuwait. Super high tech military dudes in the business class sleeper pods where I have managed to parlay my dwindling frequent flyer miles to get a pod of my own.
They’re doing top-secret stuff – “If we tell you we’ll have to kill you”…
And me? I’m just talking about Green Beans & Ice Cream… it’s all good. 
Deer in the Headlights
My long journey started at 6am, driving past the deer in my neighborhood munching the grass with it’s early morning dew on it. I was headed for a long trip to the Middle East (with a stop to see clients in Atlanta before the jump).
As usual, there was no food on the regional planes, and by nightfall I’d had almost nothing to eat. I was getting hungry…
“Chicken or Beef?” asked the stewardess, as the plane slid through the midnight air towards Dubai.
Battery Cables
It was about 2:30 p.m. and I had just finished a speaking assignment for the Tarheel Safety Chapter in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are a lively group of safety professionals who asked me to come and speak about behavior change, which I did. While there I learned a lot about some changes coming down the pipeline from OSHA, from my new BFF, Bob, with OSHA (more on that later).
I’m Confused…
Recently I was greatly honored to be asked to do a keynote speech at the Behavioral Safety Now (BSN) conference (www.behavioralsafetynow.com).
“Who, me?” I asked.
Not Another Picnic!
When it comes to Recognition, one size does NOT fit all…
From over the Persian Gulf en route to a client in the Middle East . . .
“We do a great job at employee recognition” said the Human Resource Manager of a large hospital.
“That’s good to know,” I said. “How do you go about recognizing great performers?”
When can we fire our stupid workers?
“We are trying to reduce the stupid accidents that occur because employees are in a hurry, or they don’t follow the safety standards.”
“Every time we have an accident, I get an email from my president asking if we can fire the injured employee. In their book, it’s always the employee’s fault…”
Why Them? Why Not Me?
Rose works for one of the top luxury hotel firms in the world. The hotel’s reputation for service is legendary—and so was their approach to employee recognition, or so I thought, until I met Rose.
The Great Motivational Debate
I’d just finished my workshop at the national meeting of the American Society of Safety Engineers. After my presentation, I was approached by a senior consultant with one of the biggest behavioral consulting firms; he immediately hit me with a really heavy behavioral question….
“Aren’t you worried about robbing people of their intrinsic motivation by giving them gifts like IPODS and other tangible reinforcers?” he asked, smiling slightly.
May I have the Darts & Blindfold Please?
“I’m trapped in a self-perpetuating nightmare Bill.”
So began my chat with a safety manager of a Fortune 1000 company. His boss had directed him to implement a safety bingo program. Against his better judgment, he did.
When Behavior Based Safety Fails: Beef Stew and the Verbal Eraser
When I was in Saudi Arabia recently, I asked how many of the 400 managers I spoke with were using a behavioral process. Over 90% said that yes they were, in fact using one of the original systems developed by one of the largest safety consulting firms some 20+ years ago.
My next question: “Would you say that the feedback you give employees when you do observations is mostly POSITIVE or mostly NEGATIVE?”
1 hand went up saying that the feedback was mostly positive.
