August 02 2021
By: Shawn M. Galloway
Common sense means sense about things that that nearly all believe would be perceived as regular, predictable and, thus, common. It doesn't mean everyone has it. That is the first maturing in thinking that needs to occur with many, especially the internal company leaders still using this term. 
Everyone has their own unique reticular activating system, filtering in and out what we experience with our sensory inputs. What one person views as risky, another may not, especially with their also unique experiences with performing a task and how we have measured success (absence of failures must therefore mean the presence of success?!). That is the second maturing in thinking.
The third is, safety does not own the common or uncommon phrases (language) within the organizations leveraging our collective professional support to help them improve safety performance and culture. Executive and operational leadership owns this. Thus, we need to influence changing the thinking about what that term - common sense - means, and helping leadership find different language to understand (and proactively address) influences on decisions and behavior.
Shawn M. Galloway is the CEO of ProAct Safety and an advisor to leading organizations across all major industries. With over twenty years of experience in safety systems, strategy, culture, leadership, and employee engagement, he is a trusted advisor, keynote speaker, and expert witness.
He is the author of several bestselling books and has multiple regular columns in leading magazines, with over 400 articles and 100 videos to his credit. He also created the first safety podcast, Safety Culture Excellence, with over 800 episodes. Shawn has received numerous prestigious accolades and has been featured in Power 101 Leaders of the EHS World, Top 50 People Who Most Influenced EHS, Top 40 Rising Stars, Top 11 Health and Safety Influencers, and Top 10 Speakers.
He serves on the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and the Fast Company Executive Board. He has appeared as a 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, reinforcing his status as an authority in the field of safety excellence.
For more information, call +1.936.273.8700 or email info@ProActSafety.com.
