Take Paul O’Neill, for example. First he turned Alcoa into a leader in safety among American corporations. Now as U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary, his recent efforts to improve safety at the 150,000-employee department have been called “obsessive” by the business media. Good work, Paul. America needs more safety-obsessed executives.
But even well-intentioned executives run the risk of sending the wrong message when it comes to safety, if they base their view on traditional safety measurements that at worst encourage dishonesty and at best present a fundamental barrier to positive change.