The “Dancing Guy” video is a staple inclusion in many leadership training sessions and hailed by many as a great example of how easily 'leaders' can create a following . Dr Rob Long reveals the truth behind this video and how the dynamic of groupthink and mindless conformity is not an … [Read more...] about Lemmings for Lemmings in Leadership and Risk
Robert Long
Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging
One of the fascinating things about the Coronavirus pandemic is watching Safety morph into epidemiology expertise. I would like a dollar for every flyer, presentation, podcast, powerpoint, checklist template, toolbox talk and poster set that had jumped into my inbox on a daily basis in the last … [Read more...] about Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging
Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
We learnt yesterday sadly, that the fatalities on Australian roads have increased well over the rate prior to Covid. Most Road Authorities in Australia have been singing the ideological tune of Zero for over 10 years. The worst ad in the bombardment of Zero on our TV screens is this one from the … [Read more...] about Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
Can There Be Other Valid Worldviews Than Safety?
Can There Be Other Valid Worldviews Than Safety? This is the challenge worldviews is the challenge of the unknown unknowns. How can I know another worldview, when all I know is my own? Can there be a different view of the world other than the lens I use to see it? Could it be that another worldview … [Read more...] about Can There Be Other Valid Worldviews Than Safety?
Evaluating Value by the Value of What You Don’t Know
You can’t know what you don’t know and so you can only evaluate a value by what you do know, by your worldview/paradigm. However, regardless of that worldview, there are other worldviews that are just as valid. All worldviews compete just as all values compete, for power, within a culture. Unless … [Read more...] about Evaluating Value by the Value of What You Don’t Know
Reality vs Theory, The Binary Divide
Reality vs Theory, The Binary Divide Not a week goes by without someone telling me to get out of the ‘classroom’ and get some safety reality. The assumption is that because I have a title before my name that I am somehow stuck in some academic vortex. Unfortunately, Safety in general seems to pitch … [Read more...] about Reality vs Theory, The Binary Divide
No Paradigm Shift with BBS
The cardinal rule in safety is to present what you are not by stating what something is, then claiming the myth created as true. Then anchor a symbol and ritual to that myth and it becomes the new truth. Is it true? No! Does it work? No! But why let reality get in the way of a good myth. This is the … [Read more...] about No Paradigm Shift with BBS
The KISS of Death in Safety
I came across this Safety ‘goop’ a few weeks ago that serves as a good example of the nature of indoctrination in this industry (https://www.qmihsconference.org.au/wp-content/uploads/qmihsc-2008-writtenpaper-reynoldson.pdf). One of the most reliable things in safety and characteristic of its … [Read more...] about The KISS of Death in Safety
Is Your Safety World Too Small?
This meme (See Figure 1. Male and Female Safety) was circulated into my feed yesterday and it makes a great point. More women die in domestic violence in Australia than people killed in workplace accidents. Yet, the key definition of safety and the value of safety … [Read more...] about Is Your Safety World Too Small?
What Does Safety Achieve?
What Does Safety Achieve? Have You Heard the Latest Safety Joke? An Archetype is not the sum of individuals in a group. An Archetype is the representation of a mindset/culture that belongs to a group. In the nature of Safety this is best known through the work of associations, regulators and common … [Read more...] about What Does Safety Achieve?
