Appreciation of Appreciation
Most of us probably don’t show enough appreciation or gratitude for the things that others do for us, nor do we always properly and graciously accept and acknowledge it. As my expectations and perceptions have changed dramatically over time, I’m not going to sound like a cranky old fart and blame it on modern society because its probably always been that way. Good people don’t do things for others because they expect thanks or something else in return. My gorgeous partner’s favourite author is Byron Katie. Katie has a great philosophical approach to life. Some of her quotes are: “Don’t be careful. You could hurt yourself.”, “Don’t lend money if you expect to get repaid”, “Don’t believe everything you think.” and “people will never behave the way you expect them to”.
Anyway…….. One of our authors Craig Clancy, wrote to me this morning ecstatic that this site is instrumental in promoting his consultancy (Safety In Industry) and that they are now “busier than a…………(well known simile edited)” he wanted to thank me for this blog’s role in making potential customers aware of his business and in providing a credible reference for potential clients to validate the authenticity and value of his services – I think I may have read “I owe you lunch”. Craig’s business focus is on design, development and implementation of AS4801, OHSAS18001, ISO9001, ISO14001 and Federal Safety management systems and associated documentation, such as SWMS, Safety Plans etc. for the construction industry. Craig, having been the General Manager of a very large construction and civil company in QLD, knows his way around the construction game and provides other great services like tender and bid writing, Project Manager, Foreman and Safety Advisor training. Whilst many articles on this blog criticise the incorrect use of SWMS and their tick n flick automation, Craig takes a quite unique “Activity Based” approach to developing them – this is hard for some customers to grasp at times but a very successful outcome – see Craig’s article: https://safetyrisk.net/task-based-vs-activity-based-safe-work-method-statements/.
BTW, despite the industry that Craig works in, there is no ZERO in his language!
I spoke to Craig about how my journey has taken me from an engineering, compliance and systems approach to a people approach and he had a great reply:
What I have noticed Dave is that yes, the people side is paramount and I agree with all the articles, and totally agree with the dehumanising aspects of safety systems, however, the safety maturity of organisations starts with a need / recognition for compliance (certification, accreditation etc), whether we like that requirement or not. As many of your articles point out, it is driven by the BIG END and government regulation.
Unfortunately to play in the sandpit most companies need to provide the right equipment / tools, and I believe this is where we come to the fore where we can provide streamlined and efficient systems and workflows.
My focus when implementing is that we CANNOT mechanise or automate safety….. someone must think about what we are about to do and ensure implemented controls are effective.
I recognise I am not in the same league of some of your writers with their psychology backgrounds and do agree with them, however I believe it needs a holistic approach and recognition of where organisations and their people are at before taking them on the journey.
So thanks Craig I really appreciate your feedback and gratitude – it is great to hear about the success of your business, an absolute pleasure to know you and I’m very happy to help promote what you do.
Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below