Balmert News on Safety, Leadership & Workplace Trends

Hazard/Risk

Working For A Living

This month Paul examines what happens when the right things aren’t done to make sure the hazards do no harm. He examines the case of Jacob Dean and how the decisions, not just of Jacob, led to a tragedy. There are many lessons to be learned from this case regardless of where you work or what you do that can make the difference between going home alive and well at the end of the day or not going home at all. The Case for Safety depends on doing the right thing.

December 16, 2021 No Comments

Execution

Things Went Awry

This month Paul examines what happened on the set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He finds several very important lessons for us to apply where we work when things go differently than the planned or expected course.

November 30, 2021 No Comments

Safety Meeting Topics

Paying Attention

In this edition Paul discusses two important places to look for hazards, as well as an incident to illustrate the point. You might be surprised by the connection.

November 15, 2021 No Comments

Compliance

Rules: Resistance and Enforcement

This month Paul looks at some recent very public cases where change was mandated and some cases where compliance has been resisted. Paul draws out some key learnings that every leader responsible for making change happen needs to understand.

October 29, 2021 No Comments

Safety Meeting Topics

Regarding Enforcement

When it comes to enforcing the rules, most leaders don’t enjoy making people follow the rules.

So, what if we just hit the easy button, making following the safety rules an option instead of a requirement?

October 19, 2021 No Comments

Execution

The Face of the Company

This month Paul explains why inverting the organizational pyramid is critical to understanding who the most important member of management is when it comes to getting things done and sending people home alive and well at the end of the day.

September 30, 2021 No Comments

Safety Meeting Topics

Comparing Hazards

This month Paul looks at how we perceive the relative risk of hazards, as well as the process we use to determine which ones require the most attention.

September 15, 2021 No Comments

Leadership

Your Legacy

This month Paul asks “What would you like your legacy to be?” You might be tempted to think this is just life advice and has little to do with what you do at work. You would be wrong. Paul holds up the legacy of one of the great leaders he met during his career who left a lasting impression on Paul. The lessons are important if you want to make a difference sending people home alive and well at the end of each and every day.

August 31, 2021 No Comments

Safety Meeting Topics

Saying Something

It’s a rule anyone who’s ever learned to change a tire knows well: before jacking up a vehicle, put it in park and set the parking brake. For good measure, chock the wheels…

August 16, 2021 No Comments

Execution

Regarding Trust

This month Paul disects three similar events to examine the issue of trust. You might be surprised how he ties it all together. He provides us some very important thoughts that we all need to understand.

July 30, 2021 No Comments

Popular Articles

It’s Just Common Sense

This month Paul examines how leaders often misuse the phrase “it’s just common sense”—either to dismiss learning or to assume shared understanding without definition. He argues that many leadership statements presented as fact are really opinions, and that poor communication stems from assuming others interpret words, experience, and expectations the same way.

Resetting PPE Habits

In this months Flash we are re-visiting the fundamental concept of getting folks to follow all of the rules, all of the time. As to how you might move the needle a great place to start is with PPE.

The Holiday Season

This month Paul shares that for twenty-five years, our work has been grounded in disciplined observation, analysis, and testing. That process has shaped how we identify the leadership practices that most directly influence safety performance—the same ideas we teach.

Accountability

This month, we are pleased to feature an article by Newton Scavone, one of our most experienced members of the Balmert teaching team, based in São Paulo. Newton started as a client learning and using the MSP tools, then became one of the leaders developed to teach the course inside his company. For the last six years, many of you have known him as a Balmert Consulting teacher. He brings deep operational credibility and a clear understanding of what it takes to make these tools work in the real world.

Enough Said?

In this month’s Flash, we take a look at a very important first step to ensure conversations go as well as they ought to when expectations around safety haven’t been met.

Managing Hazards

This month, Paul takes on one of the toughest challenges every leader faces — managing hazards. Not just the big, obvious ones that make the “A List,” but the ordinary, everyday things that cause most of the injuries. He reminds us that managing hazards isn’t about eliminating every risk; it’s about handling them — and the people around them — “with a degree of skill and care.”

Beyond the Rules

In this months Flash we look at the importance of Safety Rules, and a very critical concept about the rules that ensures they help keep us safe.

My Supervisor

In this month’s Managing Safety Performance News Paul takes on the challenge of trust and credibility in leadership—he discusses why they’re eroding at the top, why supervisors hold the real advantage, and what that means for influencing followers to work safe. He makes the case that trust is not a given but a hard-earned reward—and the most powerful tool any leader has for sending everyone home safe, every day.

Setbacks

In this month’s Flash we take a look at setbacks, and the unique opportunity they provide to a leader in ensuring followers know and understand what is most important.

Blowing The Whistle

In this month’s Managing Safety Performance News Paul reflects on the investigations into Challenger and the Titan submersible. From Richard Feynman’s ice-water demonstration to the Coast Guard’s scathing report, Paul points out that history shows how truth can be buried, warnings ignored, and lives lost.

Managing Safety Performance News

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