• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SafetyRisk.net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE
    • Slogans
      • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
      • When Slogans Don’t Work
      • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
      • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
      • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
      • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
      • Safety Acronyms
      • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
      • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
      • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
      • Safety Slogans List
      • Road Safety Slogans 2023
      • How to write your own safety slogans
      • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
      • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
      • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
      • Safety Slogans for Work
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • Social Psychology Of Risk
    • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Dr Long Posts
    • ALL POSTS
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no Hierarchy of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • THEMES
    • Risk Myths
    • Safety Myths
    • Safety Culture Silences
    • Safety Culture
    • Psychological Health and Safety
    • Zero Harm
    • Due Diligence
  • Free Learning
    • Introduction to SPoR – Free
    • FREE RISK and SAFETY EBOOKS
    • FREE ebook – Guidance for the beginning OHS professional
    • Free EBook – Effective Safety Management Systems
    • Free EBook – Lessons I Have Learnt
  • Psychosocial Safety
    • What is Psychosocial Safety
    • Psychological Safety
      • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
      • Managing psychosocial hazards at work
      • Psychological Safety – has it become the next Maslow’s hammer?
      • What is Psychosocial Safety
      • Psychological Safety Slogans and Quotes
      • What is Psychological Safety?
      • Understanding Psychological Terminology
      • Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?
      • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
      • It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!
You are here: Home / Resilience / Failure Must be an Option

Failure Must be an Option

February 6, 2016 by Dr Rob Long 8 Comments

Failure Must be an Option

imageThe Australian Government wants to stimulate an innovation/ideas avalanche and have thrown $1.1 billion at trying to create a ‘boom’ of ‘agile’, ‘creative’ and ‘innovative’ people seeking to embrace risk (http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/innovation-statement-what-you-need-to-know-about-malcolm-turnbulls-plan-20151206-glgzhs.html ). Just like the US Government in Oct 2015 in The Strategy for American Innovation advocated Americans to ‘embrace risk’ and encourages ‘risk-taking’.

One of the key changes that is part of New National Innovation Agenda is changes in penalties for bankruptcy because, ‘current insolvency laws put too much focus on penalising and stigmatizing failures’ (http://www.businessinsider.com.au/here-comes-the-governments-innovation-statement-2015-12). Incoming Chief Scientist at CSIRO: ‘decried the ‘fear of failure’ that lies deep in the Australian mindset’. Nothing kills innovation and creativity like risk aversion.

Yet, many of the things we do in other organisations stifle a ‘mentalitie’ (collective unconscious) of innovation. For example, in 2011 the bureaucracy in Work Health and Safety law doubled. In 2010 the development of NAPLAN set back innovation in school education 50 years (http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/naplan-is-driving-our-students-backwards-20130514-2jk5p.html; http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/busting-the-naplan-myths/story-e6frg6z6-1226913710635).

So, in business and science (and the recent Australia Day awards) we want to encourage mavericks, mavens and misfits (eg. Dick Smith, Richard Branson and Australia’s Greatest People http://www.booktopia.com.au/australia-s-greatest-people-and-their-achievements-linsay-knight/prod9780857980205.html ) but safety and education mavens must be marginalized and punished. In Art and Music adventurers in risk are applauded and in risk and safety and schooling, one size fits all. Then when Safety comes out with an ‘innovation’ it is something like a ‘drops calculator’ that normalises ‘pissy petty’ safety (http://www.dropsonline.org/resources-and-guidance/drops-calculator/) and the focus on objects. Safety, by endorsing the focus on objects not subjects (people) continues to focus on mechanization not the humanization of Safety. No wonder Safety doesn’t really innovate, no wonder it avoids the risk of critical thinking.

What a dilemma, unless is our society schizophrenic?

Enshrined in the New National Innovation Agenda is the belief that failure must be an option and that punishment for risk taking must be minimized. Yet in risk and safety we have the opposite, all risk must be denounced and declared as evil, evil doers must be punished.

In my book Real Risk, Human Discerning and Risk pp. 55-61 (http://www.humandymensions.com/books) I show how our society rewards risk that fails but applauds risk that is successful (eg. Jessica Watson).

This week we saw amazing footage of a man who helped rescue a trapped driver from a burning truck. We watched as this semi-conscious 72 year old was assisted out of the cabin and then the truck was engulfed in flames (see attached photo). This news flashed around the world and the young man Athen Barneby was lauded for his courage, risk taking and selflessness (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3428289/Man-climbs-burning-truck-pull-elderly-driver-free.html). What if he had failed? The story would have been ‘Idiot Tries to Rescue Driver from Burning Truck’ story. Safety would of course chime in with all the hindsight solutions.

This is how Safety tends to thinks, always wise after the event and never present in the moment. Linkedin is flooded by safety people posting silly photos of ‘other people doing things that ‘look’ risky being decried by ‘other’ safety people (who in the superiority of hindsight) declare ‘bloody idiot’. A risk aversion mentalitie (collective unconscious) creates this kind of culture. Challenge any accepted Safety ideology of Linkedin and the tirade of insults is extraordinary. This is the hotbed of Safety, consumed with petty things and blind to the by-products and trade offs of its own ideologies, missing the big picture.

Of course, the fear of risk is also the fear of failure. A culture of fear embeds fear invisibly into a culture (through the backdoor of safety) so that it spreads between disciplines, politics and learning. The learning occurs by osmosis, nothing is overtly declared instead, we all know the consequences of not reaching zero. When the talk is about zero and the ideology is about zero then there can be no failure without punishment. Therefore the focus in Safety is on counting not engaging people in tackling risk. Just watch Safety get excited about counting apps, checklist apps and calculator apps and you will witness a demonstration that Safety is a mathematical exercise not a human exercise.

Instead, where should the focus be? The focus should be on resilience and skill development in the face of failure but the fear of failure itself. What can Safety do that is positive?

  1. The first place to start is in the language and words used that associate risk aversion with safety.
  2. The second is to move from a discourse of fear and punishment to a discourse of learning and understanding.
  3. The third is to shift from a focus on systems to a focus on people, ‘human factors’ should not be about humans as a factor within a system.
  4. Finally, Safety needs to shift from the mechanics of counting and the ideology of zero to the skills of engagement, observing and listening.

It’s not rocket science, yet in the face of what safety now does, it is strangely innovative. Maybe with these new values and attitudes in an organisation’s culture we might get some drift into agility, innovation and creativity that the Government is seeking.

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • Not Just Another ‘Hazard’ - February 3, 2023
  • How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety - February 2, 2023
  • Free Download – Real Risk – New Book by Dr Robert Long - February 2, 2023
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do - February 1, 2023
  • Harming People in the Name of Good - January 31, 2023
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Resilience, Risk Aversion, Robert Long, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: failure, fear, risk aversion

Reader Interactions

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,500 other subscribers

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

Not Just Another ‘Hazard’

Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?

How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety

ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do

The KISS of Death in Safety

Behavioural Safety is NOT a Foundation for Tackling Psychosocial and Mental Health

The Worst Approach to Psychosocial Problems is an Attitude of ‘Fixing’

The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health

Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)

No Good Reason to Follow Reason

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

Recent Comments

  • Not Simply One other ‘Hazard’ - Personal Safety News on Not Just Another ‘Hazard’
  • Rob Long on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • simon p cassin on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • simon p cassin on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • Rob long on How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Rob Long on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • Rob Long on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • Matt Thorne on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • simon p cassin on Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • Hurak Learning on How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Rob Long on An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Paul Gentles on An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Brent Charlton on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Rob Long on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Brian Edwin Darlington on The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Brian on The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Jaise on The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Rob Long on Posture Myths and Holistic Ergonomics
  • Linda McKendry on Posture Myths and Holistic Ergonomics
  • Rob long on Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Footer

VIRAL POST – The Risk Matrix Myth

Top Posts & Pages. Sad that most are so dumb but this is what safety luves

  • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • Proving Safety
  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do
  • NATIONAL SAFETY DAY/WEEK IN INDIA 2023
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators

Recent Posts

  • Not Just Another ‘Hazard’
  • Psychosocial Safety, Is it possible to make it culturally normal?
  • How to Be Oriented Towards Psychosocial and Mental Health in Safety
  • Free Download – Real Risk – New Book by Dr Robert Long
  • Proving Safety
  • ISO 45003 and What it Cannot Do
  • Harming People in the Name of Good
  • An Advanced Understanding of Culture – A Video
  • Risk and Safety Maturity
  • The KISS of Death in Safety
  • SPoR, Metanoia and a Podcast on Change with Nippin Anand
  • Behavioural Safety is NOT a Foundation for Tackling Psychosocial and Mental Health
  • The Worst Approach to Psychosocial Problems is an Attitude of ‘Fixing’
  • SPoR Comes to Vienna June 2023
  • The Language of ‘Hazards’ and Psychosocial, Mental Health
  • Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
  • The Visionary Imagination – Louisa Lawson
  • Heaven ‘n Hell and the Safety Religion
  • Confirmity in Conformity
  • Numerology and Psychic Numbing
  • Thinking of Mortality
  • Safety is the Wrong Anchor
  • Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk
  • Getting the Balance Right in Tackling Risk
  • What is SPoR?
  • How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
  • Afraid to Let Go of What Doesn’t Work in Safety
  • When You Don’t Know What to do in Safety, Have Another Blitz!!!
  • Gloves and Glasses Compliance
  • A Case of Desensitisation – What Would You Do?
  • How to Leave the Safety Industry
  • The Mythic Symbology of Safety
  • Dark Waters, The True Story of DuPont and Zero
  • 400,000 Free Downloads
  • Am I stupid? I didn’t think of that…
  • Don’t Look Now Safety, Your Metaphor is Showing
  • Ratio Delusions and Heinrich’s Hoax
  • To Err is Human, You Better Believe It
  • Culture as a Wicked Problem, for Safety
  • Safety Leadership Training
  • Cultural Orientation in Risk
  • The Stanford Experiment and The Social Psychology of Risk
  • Objectivity, Audits and Attribution When Calculating Risk
  • Records of safety activities: evidence of safety or non-compliance?
  • Zero, The Seeking of Infinity
  • Safety Leadership Essentials
  • What Can Indiana Jones Tell Us About Culture
  • Safety as a Worldview
  • The Loathing of Limits
  • Culture Cannot be Framed Through Safety

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

The Challenge of the Consciousness Taboo

Even Safety Is Fallible

Free Online Workshops

Introduction to SPoR – Free

A Semiotic Map for Safety

The Myth of Fast and Slow Thinking

New Video Series on Safety

Happy New Year and the ‘Good Life’ Paradox

Safety People Don’t ‘Save Lives’

How to Do the Best Risk Assessment

What Can Safety Learn from Barbie

First in Best Dressed for Indoctrination

CLLR April 2017 Newsletter–Not Your Usual Safety Newsletter!!

Human Dymensions Feb17 Newsletter and Competition

A Poetics of Safety

Like a Rhizome Cowboy

Making Safety Better by Using Our Adaptive Toolbox

Semiotics and Unconscious Communication in Safety

Safety Myopia

Resilience and Safety

No Gurus, No Stars, No Heroes Needed in Safety

The Safety Worldview and the Worldview of Safety, Testing Due Diligence

Concept Mapping Risk iCue

Sensemaking and ‘Hapori’ – Essential for Tackling Risk in New Zealand

Risk Boldly

Who Said We Don’t Need Systems?

Prepositions for Risk and Safety Leadership

The Psychology of Leadership in Risk

I Don’t Serve Systems

Balance in Risk and Safety

The Seduction of Measurement in Risk and Safety

What’s Your Resilience Profile?

Myth and Symbols in Safety

Safety is NOT a Choice

Take Safety Seriously

Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?

Social Psychology of Risk in Canada

Who is the Enemy and What War is Safety Fighting?

The Stanford Experiment and The Social Psychology of Risk

Incident Investigations and the Einstellung Effect

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,500 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

What is Psychological Safety at Work?


WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL SAFETY