Peter Sheahan Speaks to Change

The Opening General Session featured Peter Sheahan, who presented on “Creative Strategies for Turning Challenge Into Opportunity and Change Into Competitive Advantage.” His lively discussion focused on change and how to navigate it. He started by pointing out three usual reactions to change: 1) lay in the corner in a fetal position and hope it goes away; 2) acknowledge the change but don't do anything about it; and 3) recognize change and take action. Although this third reaction is constructive, he emphasized that, "Just being open to change is not enough."

Sheahan's message centered around three main areas to help safety professionals change, evolve and be successful. These included recognizing the assumptions that come along with change; having clarity about it and aligning your actions with the new methods; and collaborating to drive engagement throughout the process.

He encouraged attendees to question their assumptions about change, mentioning that "Change is really slow, until it's not," and that you never find evidence of something changing a profession with something that you weren't already fundamentally aware of. "If you want to know what the future of safety looks like, you only have to look here at the sessions happening at Safety 2013."

He offered ideas and strategies to help safety professionals recognize when they are making bad assumptions, as these can block any progression in their work. 

• Condition yourself to evolve safety practices.
• "Change is bigger than any one professional." Egos block progress, rather than evolve it.
• Don't be too narrow when defining your value.
• "Don't assume you know what the perfect future safety model is. Test in small doses." Test your methods and fail fast to learn from the mistakes.
• After success, you may need to let go and create a new process."The secret to staying at the top of your game is to be able to escape the gravity of success."