January 23 2023
By: Shawn M. Galloway
Homemade hot cocoa is an enjoyable treat for the kids in the winter, even in Texas. So, two of my older daughters helped the triplets make theirs. My seventeen-year-old spilled some on one of her favorite sweaters. I offered to help get the stain out. Wanting the sweatshirt to soak as a part of the process, I placed it in the utility sink in the laundry room.
Filling it up takes time, so I left the room to get something. Distracted, I found myself deep in another task when I remembered the sweater. Running back into the laundry room, I discovered the sink spilling over onto the tile floor below. Luckily, a quick mistake to clean.
Many sinks in the bathrooms in American homes have overflow holes in them to provide the capacity to deal with an overflow error. Why not also have these in large sinks, where people would intentionally fill them up?
Mistakes should be planned for in many environments. When mistakes happen, does your company have systems to minimize the undesired result and quick recovery back to the pre-event state? Are these systems in place where you really need them?
"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts." — Nikki Giovanni
"At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them." — Angie Thomas
"Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time." — George Bernard Shaw
Shawn Galloway, CEO of ProAct Safety, is an expert in safety excellence. With almost thirty years of experience, he is a highly sought-after advisor, keynote speaker, and expert witness. Shawn has become a trusted partner to leading organizations across various industries worldwide. He ranks in the top 1% of the most prolific writers in his field, having authored over 500 articles and several bestselling books. He also launched the world's first safety podcast, Safety Culture Excellence©. As a recognized authority in safety, Shawn has received awards such as being named among the Top 50 People Who Most Influence EHS and a Top 10 Speaker, among others.
He is a regular guest on Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Mail, Dubai One, U.S. News & World Report, Sirius Business Radio, Wharton Business Daily, and leading safety magazines and podcasts. Shawn also serves as a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, Forbes Business Council, and Fast Company Executive Board, enabling his influence to shape safety thinking and strategy at the executive level.
