I am currently taking the Safety Messaging platforms and expanding into messaging for youth.  In another life I ski raced and coached in Canada and was the first President of the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation. We are developing a bullying module for teens and have rolled out a program we call PERFORMANCE PLUS for junior hockey in Canada. The recent controversy in the NHL over treatment of players at all levels has made our decision timely.

The relationship between being an effective manager and motivator of people and a coach is more that similar – the same skill sets are mandatory to be successful.  I want to share the following quote from Bo Hanson, an Olympic athlete and owner of a company called Athlete Assessments.  The principle about investing in people is the same.

“In elite sport equipment is the same among competitors, physical conditioning programs are indistinguishable, and game plans or race strategies are often duplicated.   The only true competitive advantages are gained by investing in the mental and emotional skills of your people and their relationships with each other.”

The Monthly Safety Modules we create for clients are just that – Creations.  We work to talk with people every week.  Mondays we try to motivate, Tuesday through Thursday we work to communicate with thought provoking messages on a range of issues relating to safety and personal health.

Friday, we try to leave people with some happy thoughts.  As the above quote says – investing in the mental and emotional skills of your people are key.  Because everyone gets the same message every day – we are a stimulus for people to work on their relationships.

Sorry if this sounds like a sales job – but very excited about the work we are doing with youth.  The foundation has been and will continue to be Safety Messaging.

From both myself and Kirstin, who makes Safety Messaging work, we wish everyone a very wonderful, happy and safe holiday season.

Good morning.  An interesting perspective from the website www.safetyrisk.net  and Dr. Robert Long.  It fits our objectives at Safety Messaging about ‘simulating thought’ with our ‘message mix’.

And the following is in all our message modules for all our clients today:

MOVEMBER IS FOR MEN

Globally, every minute, a man dies by suicide. 75% of suicides are men.

What can we do?  Talk. Ask. Listen. Encourage action.

Check in. Don’t ignore.

      Talk Soon;

In my leadership workshop I have a discussion on the above topic.  It is a proven fact that companies with women in senior management positions and who have women representation on their Board of Directors – outperform companies that don’t.  Here is an excerpt from an article I found this week.

“As much of an emphasis as there is in day-to-day talk, very little progress has been made towards gender diversity in the workplace. Representation of women at every level of the organization has hardly changed, especially at top levels. As of June 1st, only 6.6% of the Fortune 500 companies are led by a woman. While this rate is slightly up from 2018, it is minimal progress.”  

Personally, after over 35 years owning and running companies – I will always have a minimum of 50% of the management team be women.  And – note the word “minimum”. 

A study by Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick found that “productivity increases by 12% when people are happier”. –   The Economist – September 2019

   Right Messages – Right People

   Right Time – Right Results

Our objective at Safety Messaging is to assist in the creation of a “Proactive Safety Culture”.

Many safety programs spend the majority of their resources on the enforcement of regulations focusing primarily on job conditions.

Unfortunately – Job conditions are responsible for only approximately 10% of accidents. 

Communication Counts – Consider these Factors!

• The majority of supervisors lack the skills to engage in meaning full conversations with employees – especially one-on-one.

• It is not the company safety director who has the most influence on the safety culture – it is the front-line foremen and supervisors.

Dr. Dan Peterson is an industrial psychologist and safety professional who has written 17 books and developed a program called “Six Criteria for Safety Excellence”.  Check out this comment.

“We know that ‘things’ don’t cause the majority of accidents – it’s bad behaviors.  The attitudes, beliefs and ideas that employees have about safety are shaped by their direct supervisor”.

In our employee surveys over the past three year;

• 77% of respondents, stated that Safety Messaging had increased their risk awareness of jobsite hazards

• 36% said they had intervened in an unsafe act.

Safety. I have lived it. I went to work on an asphalt crew when I was 14, was a foreman at 18, almost lost my hand at 19, saw a death at 20, and much more. I ran a major construction job at 23, got fired at 24 and started my own company at 25……. I have worked for myself ever since……construction, waste management, coaching, and more……

Knowledge comes from everywhere….. if you can find the time to find it. I read four newspapers every day. The best learning experience – asking questions.  From everybody, friends, enemies, somebody you meet in an airport. ‘What do you think?”…is the world’s greatest door opener.

We believe safety only comes from creating “risk awareness”.  We do it with today’s only communication medium that really works – text messaging. Slogans are for bumper stickers. There is no such thing as “Zero Accidents”.

Safety at home or at work has to be a living breathing commitment.

What is your Safety Pulse today?  If it is ‘weak’ – you might end up in the hospital.  If it is ‘stable’ – you have a chance.  If it is ‘strong’ – you are ahead of the game. But – you must be aware of it all the time.  Consider “risk awareness” like taking a morning heart pill. We don’t want any heart attacks today – read accidents!

We reach out around the world for opinions issues pertaining to safety and health and wellness in the workplace.  Looking forward to sharing.

Plus – just like our safety message program – maybe some controversial thoughts to stimulate discussion on a range of topics.  I hope so!