Safety pros can learn from kangaroos and emus

Two of Australia’s indigenous creatures, kangaroos and emus, have something in common – they seldom move backward. Kangaroos, because of the shape of their body and the length of their strong tail, can bounce along with forward movement, but they cannot easily shift into reverse. Emus can run fast on their strong legs, but the joints in their knees seem to make backward movement difficult. Both animals appear on Australia’s coat of arms as a symbol that the nation is to be ever moving forward and making progress.

There is a similar approach to the life of a safety pro. I cannot think of a time when I have arrived at a conclusion of safety excellence with nothing left to do. One thing we have in common is a journey that doesn’t concern itself with what is behind us. Rather, we are to strive toward a goal of those things which are ahead. While it is wise to learn from the past, we shouldn’t live in the past. We cannot redo or undo the past, but we can press forward to serve our profession’s focus on protecting the lives of those we serve today and in the future. Ours is a journey forward.

The Doc

KEYWORDS: safety goals safety leadership

“The Doc” Mike Williamsen is a nationally recognized workplace safety consultant with more than 25 years of safety and business change management experience. His background includes serving in Engineering, Operations, and Safety Manager positions for companies such as Frito-Lay, Inc., and General Dynamics. Mike has applied high-impact safety principles to Fortune 500 companies such as General Dynamics, Baxter Healthcare, ATCO Electric, Rohm and Haas Co., and BASF. He received his academic degrees from the University of California, Berkeley (B.S.), California State University, Hayward (MBA) and Columbia Southern University, Orange Coast, Alabama (Ph.D., Business).