Most executives I know are so action-oriented, or action-addicted, that time for reflection is the first casualty of their success.
Margaret HeffernanRead
How can any company know if its processes, products, people are safe? Only if everyone is watching and telling the truth. The first part can be assumed; the second cannot.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A company's safety relies on transparency and honesty among its people.
This quote underscores the importance of a culture of openness in organizations. While it is relatively easy to assume that processes and products are safe, true safety can only be assured if individuals within the company actively observe and communicate any concerns or truths about the organization's practices. This highlights the critical role of honest communication in maintaining safety and accountability in the workplace.
Themes
SafetyTransparencyHonestyCommunicationLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting focused on safety protocols, this quote can be used to inspire transparency.
More from Margaret Heffernan
All quotes βOnce you have power, you are inevitably surrounded by people who have their own agendas and will tell you whatever advances them.
Margaret HeffernanRead
If the company depends entirely on you - your creativity, ingenuity, inspiration, salesmanship or charisma - nobody will want to buy it. The risk and the dependency are too great.
Margaret HeffernanRead
Those in powerless positions aren't about to complain about bullying bosses, abusive supervisors or corrupt co-workers. There is no safe way to do so and no process that promises redress.
Margaret HeffernanRead
Bosses and leaders everywhere should cherish the people who bring them bad news, disappointing data or hard problems.
Margaret HeffernanRead
[For constructive conflict,] we have to resist the neurobiological drive which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves.
Margaret HeffernanRead
Similar quotes
The primary skill of a manager consists of knowing how to make assignments and picking the right people to carry out those assignments
Lee IacoccaRead
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.
Niccolo MachiavelliRead
The future of any corporation is as good as the value system of the leaders and followers in the organization.
N. R. Narayana MurthyRead
If you're interested in the job and in the kind of work that's done, you have to have an interest in who's going to fill your shoes.
John Paul StevensRead
The era of using people as production tools is coming to an end. Participation is infinitely more complex to practice than conventional corporate unilateralism, just as democracy is much more cumbersome than dictatorship. But there will be few companies that can afford to ignore either of them.
Ricardo SemlerRead
Sometimes leaders slide from the role of freedom fighter into the presidency, which they may be unsuited for, but everyone accepts it until they hit the bump in the road.
Kofi AnnanRead