7 Reasons We Accept Risk

You can perform dangerous activities SAFELY!

Click here for the video!

Go ahead and admit it.  There is a part of you that wonders what it would feel like to jump out of a plane. You would like to accept the risk.  I have heard plenty of people say, “I would love to do that.”

There is another part of you that says there is not enough money in the world that could persuade you to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

Which side of the debate in your mind wins?  Risk or Reward?

There are 3 reasons that motivated me to jump out of a plane:

1. I love a challenge!  Ignoring an extreme fear of heights is a challenge!
2. I like adrenaline!  The thought of jumping out of plane makes my heart thump!
3. For some strange reason, jumping feels like I accomplished something.

“Motivation” is not always enough.  There are 4 things that convinced me that it was acceptable to take the risk:

1. I did not believe anything bad would happen.  Statistics show driving a car is more dangerous.
2. I trusted the equipment.  It was inspected and re-inspected.
3. I trusted the individual that I jumped with.  He had experience with over 2000 jumps.
4. I friends (Wade Shockley) and family (Caleb Lynn) willing to jump with me.  The crowd gives you confidence.

We take risk for all kinds of reasons but the bigger question is, “How do we control the risk to acceptable levels?”  There is no doubt there is no margin for error when you jump 14,000 feet.  When you free fall for 60 seconds and travel 120 miles an hour, you can’t afford to make a mistake.  There is extreme urgency with doing it the safe way!

Jumping out of an airplane has obvious consequences that can be gruesome.  It is easy to recognize.  But, do people recognize significant (or, gruesome) risk in their workplace?  People are motivated to take risk at work for specific reasons and they believe it is acceptable.  Do we train people to protect them self with the same urgency that you have jumping out of a plane?

If you can jump out of an airplane SAFELY, you can work safely.  We need to have the same urgency about the risk!

We help leaders learn to utilize tools & techniques that will influence people to make the safe choice.

Peak Safety offers a practical class that follows this line of thought:

1. We discuss why people take chances.  This is a starting point that allows us to understand what we are dealing with when it comes to risk perception and tolerance.
2. We teach people individual tools and techniques to evaluate their next steps so that they can make safe choices.
3. We teach Supervisors tools and techniques that influence risk perception and risk tolerance.

It is not enough just to acknowledge why we take risk.  We have to take the next step to influence safe choices.

If you are interested in hosting one of our Safety Leadership Classes for Risk Perception, contact David Lynn.  We would be glad to partner with you to build a safer workplace.  Click here for more resources.