March 12 2017
By: Terry L. Mathis
In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin described his personal development plan. He developed a list of admirable qualities he wanted to develop and model in his life. He dedicated himself to working on one quality per month and repeated the cycle each year. He admitted that when he tried to develop all of these qualities at once, he didn't make notable progress on any of them.
Organizations that want to develop and perform excellent safety need to take a similar approach. Working on too much at once is a formula for failure. Breaking a task down into steps makes it possible to achieve advances of almost any size and scope. Strategically targeting one type of accident or one set of precautions at a time, mastering the targeted improvement and moving on is not only a good methodology, it is the primary skill of continuous improvement.
Terry Mathis, Founder and retired CEO of ProAct Safety, has served as a consultant and advisor for top organizations the world over. A respected strategist and thought leader, Terry has authored five books, numerous articles, videos and blogs, and is known for his dynamic and engaging presentations. EHS Today has named him one of the '50 People Who Most Influenced EHS' four consecutive times. Business leaders and safety professionals seek Terry's practical insight and unique ability to introduce new perspectives that lead to real change.
