Safety is like fishing. I’ve been fishing this morning for almost two hours and haven’t caught the first fish. It made me think of what Dale Carnegie said in his book How to Win Friend and Influence People. Carnegie said, “Selling is about influencing someone to do what you wan them to do. The only way to do that is to find out what they want and show them how to get it.” Maybe that’s what I should do. Find out who these fish are and what they want.
For example, are they Baby Boomer fish or Millennial fish. If they are Millennial fish, they want to know that they are contributing to a greater good. They also want to know that you are investing in their success. If you expect a Millennial to participate in the safety committee or lead a task force to solve a problem, you might consider providing them with problem solving or project management training. Then there are some things we all want. We all want recognition. We want to know that our efforts are appreciated. There is no better means to get the behaviors we want than by recognizing those behaviors. So the next time you are fishing, be sure to know who are you fishing for and what they want. Then show them how to get it, or in our case, show them how safety can help get them what they want.