In this episode of Pre-Accident Investigation Safety Moment, Todd Conklin explores the fundamental difference between successful and failing organizations: learning. He emphasizes that the ability to learn from within is crucial for organizational resilience and operational excellence.
Conklin explains that organizations slow to learn are prone to failure and brittleness, regardless of having similar components like people, work environment, and tasks. He argues that learning should not be seen as optional but as a vital necessity for any organization aiming to thrive and avoid brittleness.
Join Todd Conklin in this brief yet insightful episode as he underscores the importance of fostering a learning culture within organizations to achieve sustained success and resilience. Remember to learn something new every day and always prioritize safety and kindness.
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WEBVTT 00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:03.897 So, you know how you look at organizations and some are really good and you're 00:00:03.897 --> 00:00:05.597 like, wow, that place looks really impressive. 00:00:06.117 --> 00:00:08.877 And then you look at other organizations and you're like, man, 00:00:09.097 --> 00:00:12.157 thank goodness I don't work there. That place is crazy. 00:00:13.237 --> 00:00:18.317 What's the difference between a smart organization and a not smart organization, 00:00:18.357 --> 00:00:20.977 a good organization and a not good organization?
00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:32.560 Music. 00:00:32.557 --> 00:00:35.937 Hey, everybody, Todd Conklin, Pre-Accident Investigation Safety Moment. 00:00:36.037 --> 00:00:39.317 Just a little tidbit. We should talk about this longer.
00:00:39.717 --> 00:00:43.817 Remind me, because this is a big one. The difference between a good organization 00:00:43.817 --> 00:00:48.577 and a bad organization, smart organization and a stupid organization, right? 00:00:48.637 --> 00:00:53.197 The difference between sort of that bipolar division or bimodal division, 00:00:53.417 --> 00:00:58.157 too valued division that we're making is really around one simple word, 00:00:58.337 --> 00:01:01.937 learning. I don't know how simple the word learning is, but it's learning.
00:01:02.097 --> 00:01:05.497 And here's the answer. I mean, it's pretty straightforward. 00:01:07.237 --> 00:01:12.317 Organizations that are slow to learn are quick to fail. 00:01:13.217 --> 00:01:18.277 Organizations that are slow to learn are brittle.
And slow learning organizations 00:01:18.277 --> 00:01:23.417 or brittle organizations are organizations that you can feel that brittleness 00:01:23.417 --> 00:01:25.417 when you start to encounter them. 00:01:25.417 --> 00:01:30.717 And what's amazing is it's all the same components, people, work, 00:01:30.957 --> 00:01:35.737 environment, context, conditions, tasks, all those things stay the same. 00:01:36.097 --> 00:01:39.917 The difference is, is how good is the organization at learning from itself? 00:01:40.517 --> 00:01:45.137 And when you start to see learning not as a nice thing to have, 00:01:45.377 --> 00:01:51.897 which unfortunately, I think many organizational leaders see learning as an option.
00:01:51.897 --> 00:01:57.717 Then what you're going to see is an organization that in fact has lots of potential 00:01:57.717 --> 00:01:59.617 to fail. It's a brutal organization. 00:02:00.317 --> 00:02:04.917 Learning is not a nice thing to have. Learning is vital.
That's the third principle. 00:02:05.117 --> 00:02:08.537 Learning is vital. It must exist. It has to exist.
00:02:08.817 --> 00:02:12.977 Because if learning doesn't exist, then the organization doesn't have the ability 00:02:12.977 --> 00:02:14.317 to feed back into itself. 00:02:14.577 --> 00:02:16.217 Operational excellence is the 00:02:16.217 --> 00:02:20.917 ability for an operation to consistently and constantly learn from itself. 00:02:21.557 --> 00:02:24.717 The third principle is not a simple, nice-to-have thing. 00:02:25.157 --> 00:02:28.137 Learning is vital, and learning is vital.
00:02:28.377 --> 00:02:34.437 That's what it does, is it allows an organization to become resilient, 00:02:34.597 --> 00:02:38.057 or maybe I should say non-brittle. 00:02:38.477 --> 00:02:41.397 That's the pod, just a shorty, but it's a goodie. 00:02:41.717 --> 00:02:45.477 Think about it. Learn something new every single day.
Have as much fun as you you possibly can. 00:02:45.537 --> 00:02:49.997 Be kind to each other, be good to each other, be well, and for goodness sakes, be safe. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:03:02.304 Music.
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