Some business managers are stuck in the past. They believe we are still in the Industrial Age of top-down control. They do not appreciate nor embrace a paradigm shift in the 21st Century, identified by Peter Drucker as the “Age of the Knowledge Worker.”
Almost 20 years ago we ran on the front cover of ISHN a large, close-up photo of a young boy, hard hat tilted on his head, sitting on a construction pile in Beijing, China. That shot came to mind not long ago while I was skimming through a Blockbuster store, of all places.
Times being what they are, with environmental health and safety professional fields fragmented, work more fast-paced, with less time for reading and strategizing, I don’t know if one individual such as Dan Petersen will ever command the collective attention he did for more than half a century.
Does it make you nervous when a stranger knows more about you or your business than you think they should? In today’s information age there are very few secrets. It’s best to anticipate what questions you might have to respond to, coming from sources that might surprise you, and have a plan for communication.
I have a small, framed photo in my office of an old boy with a gray beard slouched in a folding chair in his yard. He wears jeans, boots, red suspenders, a denim shirt, all topped by a wide-rim white cowboy hat. A black dog lies at his feet and a long stogie is stuck in his mouth.
The “D” of the LEAD acronym I introduced in my ISHN column this past December stands for “Data” (see sidebar). Data both directs and motivates behavior. By observing the results of our actions, we learn how well we completed a task and what we can do to improve.
Sadly, I preface this month’s column with word that Dan Petersen passed on January 10, 2007. Rare is a true giant in a field. That’s what Dan was to safety. A compassionate man with class, Dan started in safety full-time in 1954. For the next 53 years he prodded the field to raise its level of professionalism with unmatched vigor. In books, articles, speeches and teaching he pressed the need for research, a sense of history, clear thinking, open-mindedness, and accountability. Dan never stopped learning, never stopped pursuing the goal of organizational safety excellence. Dan leaves a huge legacy, and he’ll be very much missed. — Dave Johnson, Editor
What’s the biggest daily problem in organizations? Communication. What could have prevented many of the recordable incidents that occurred last year at your facility? Better communication. Communication makes the world go ’round.
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