April 20 2026
By: Shawn M. Galloway
Zero injuries sounds like excellence. But there are three very different paths that can produce "zero," and only one of them is worth chasing.
First path: suppressed reporting. When people feel pressure to protect the number, they hide deviations, near misses, and even injuries. That’s not excellence. That’s fear. The fix is psychological safety: make it normal to talk about what went wrong and why, without hunting for who. Discipline becomes a last resort.
Second path: continuous luck. Some teams go a month or a year with no injuries, but if leaders cannot confidently explain why, luck is doing too much work. Luck is a terrible strategy. The way off this path is more visibility and learning: better pre- and post-job conversations, leaders in the field, and real talk about where work is drifting from the plan.
Third path: collective intentionality. This is excellence minute by minute. People are equipped to succeed, deviations are expected in complex work, and recovery systems are strong enough to catch problems early and reduce harm.
So here's the question: Are you on the path of suppression, luck, or intentionality?
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.
