Pro-actively working the bottom of Heinrich’s triangle means behaviour (traditionally workforce behaviour). We all know that a conversation that starts: “Can I talk to you about your behaviour?” rarely ends well. Somehow this negativity by association has morphed into a general (and, at times, bizarre) attack on Heinrich.
Simplistic ‘culture’ programmes work from the principle that, since our culture is in essence “the way we do things around here”, then a focus on behaviour is a culture change programme.
However, we shouldn’t just focus on PPE, trip and fall hazards and line of fire issues. We should also cover supervisor behaviours such as toolbox talks (are they a mumbled nonsense that neither teaches nor inspires?) and board level strategy meetings.