By Simon Renatus We hear slogans like ‘Safety saves lives’ or ‘Safety never takes a holiday.’ These statements elevate Safety to a mythical status, assigning it human qualities such as protector, guardian, and saviour—qualities it cannot truly possess. In doing so, we transform Safety into an … [Read more...] about Safety on the Couch. A Jungian Therapy Session
Critical Thinking Needed More Than Ever in Safety
Three stories in the news this morning have significant implications for the safety industry regarding the need for critical thinking. These are: https://theconversation.com/fake-podcast-clips-are-misleading-millions-of-people-on-social-media-heres-how-to-spot-them-246425 … [Read more...] about Critical Thinking Needed More Than Ever in Safety
Selling Safety and the Safety of Selling Safety Culture
The clue to marketing safety seems to be stating what something is by what it isn’t. For example, create a document selling company and call it SafetyCulture. SafetyCulture is the name of a company but it has nothing to do with safety culture. And it markets so well, as we see its branding at the … [Read more...] about Selling Safety and the Safety of Selling Safety Culture
Hearing Voices
Hearing Voices In the midst of the busyness of work and life there is much to be said for the value of volunteering. Volunteering is a great way to learn about following and serving and especially helpful for executives who become absorbed in an alternate reality that says the stock market, KPIs … [Read more...] about Hearing Voices
It’s easy being wise after the event.
It’s easy being wise after the event. A real story By Daniel Kirk – What happens when the “Safety Guy” is involved in an incident? We all now have the benefit of hindsight on this one but I know Daniel would really appreciate your thoughts and advice – this could have happened to any one of … [Read more...] about It’s easy being wise after the event.
You Can’t ‘Bust’ Myths
One of the assumptions of the popular TV show Mythbusters (https://iview.abc.net.au/show/mythbusters) is that myths are falsehoods, this is not so. The idea of the show is to use the so-called ‘tools of science and engineering’ to ‘bust’ false beliefs. The purpose of the TV show is entertainment so … [Read more...] about You Can’t ‘Bust’ Myths
There is No Such Thing as an HRO
The idea of a static organisation as a High Reliability Organisation (HRO) is a dream-myth that Safety wants to believe but it is NOT what LaPorte, Rochlin, and Roberts or Weick ever intended. I think LaPorte, Rochlin, and Roberts and Weick would be horrified to see what safety has done to their … [Read more...] about There is No Such Thing as an HRO
Understanding the SPoR Worldview
When the English first landed in Australia, they defined this new world as ‘terra nullius’ (without humans). They saw the dark-skinned animals as ‘animals’ because they had no written text and a verbal language that was not understood. Of course, they were wrong. First nations peoples had a complex … [Read more...] about Understanding the SPoR Worldview
How to Escape the Safety=Zero Cult
There is little doubt that Safety=Zero is a cult (https://safetyrisk.net/the-cult-ure-of-zero/). As I looked at the documentary Escaping Utopia (documenting the Gloryvale cult in NZ (https://iview.abc.net.au/show/escaping-utopia) I saw such similarities in the Indoctrination of … [Read more...] about How to Escape the Safety=Zero Cult
In 2022 The world economic forum predicted this
By Frank Garrett How has traditional safety changed the educational syllabus to address these skills? In May 2025 we will bring The Social Psychology of Risk to Houston with two sessions to introduce a vast range of topics including Psychosocial Risks; Culture; Semiotics; Diversity, Equity and … [Read more...] about In 2022 The world economic forum predicted this