Page 18 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2018

RISK MANAGEMENT
The inherent mindset of non-innovative people follows a relatively straight line. Non-innovative people are in a perpetual waiting pattern for opportunities to appear.
we mitigate our vision by mitigating our blindness. We make con- scious assumptions thereby creating conscious bias and ultimately mitigating the risk.
Let’s take the driving to work example. If we properly maintain our vehicles, then we mitigate the risk of experiencing a break- down. If we look both ways at an intersection and pause before proceeding as soon as a traffic signal turns green, then we miti- gated the risk of an accident. We made a conscious assumption that predicated itself on the fact that many accidents occur at intersec- tions, so we adopted an inherent bias that intersections are not safe, and we take action to make sure we do not become a statistic. At the same time, we are not worried about our vehicle falling apart (mitigated blindness) because we serviced it per manufacturer rec- ommendations (mitigated vision).
Let’s consider how vision and blindness affect non-innovative people or people who are often waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen. When presented with a situation, most people fall into this category by simply seeing the situation as pre- sented. They see a flat line when presented with a flat line and a curved one when presented with a curved one. I call this blindness. Non-innovative people allow themselves to be blinded by the vi- sion of others. These are the “it is what it is” people.
The mindset of non-innovative people is very transparent. I can spot one a mile away simply by the way they approach their work and how they view the world. The inherent mindset of non-inno- vative people follows a relatively straight line. It is one that believes opportunities just pop up, that great ones are rare, that simply con- tinuing to do what they do will produce opportunities, that some- one else is responsible for making it happen. Non-innovative peo- ple are in a perpetual waiting pattern for opportunities to appear.
The question is what is the relationship between vision and blindness as it relates to opportunity? To answer this, let’s take a look at how innovative people see the world. When presented with a situation, innovative people immediately start the process of looking for gaps and how to fill them. Innovative people view these gaps as opportunities. They have vision. They are not blinded by the inaction typically common to non-innovative people. When presented with a straight line, innovative people naturally see where they can help to make things better. Other qualities of in- novative people are initiative and drive. See it, analyze it, design it, build it, sell it, and then improve it. Innovators do not rest, thereby creating incredible opportunities for themselves, their teams, and their employers.
Innovative people are a different breed and there are not many within organizations. The mindset of innovative people is also very transparent. You can spot one a mile away simply by the way they approach their work and how they view the world. The inherent mindset of innovative people follows a relatively wavy line. It is one that believes opportunities are created and are there only waiting to be found. Innovative people believe that moving forward while briefly glancing back at lessons unleashes vision. They take respon-
sibility for making opportunities happen and are in perpetual pur- suit of amazing ones, not by chance, but because they willed them to be created.
Optimism by Chance Thinking vs.
Optimism by Design Action
Let’s redefine how opportunities are created in terms of focus. It is my experience that most people focus on optimism by chance. An example of this is when you hear someone say, “If I work hard, I will be successful.” While working hard is an ingredient of success, it is not the only one and limiting the denominator of the statistical equation limits the possibilities available to this mindset. Another example is when you hear, “I am due for a promotion”—in this case, leaving that probability in someone else’s hands. Innovative people think differently. They focus on optimism by design. They set up the process for success and are optimistic because they have confidence in their ability to execute it. An example of this is when you hear someone say, “In three months, I will complete this task” or “I have a career plan that spans over the next several years to achieve my professional goals.”
Do you have a formal, written career plan that you are following or path designed to get you where you want to be a year, or two, or three from now? If you do not have a career plan in place, consider one. Take control of your destiny by planning for success and in- novating your own way into exceeding your goals and aspirations. Opportunity is the delta between optimism by chance thinking and optimism by design action.
Take a Hill for What It Is Worth
This is a true story about David, an entrepreneur, who saw oppor- tunity where no one else did and, despite self-doubt and naysayers, managed to build a highly successful business.
On his way to work early one morning, David noticed a large hill/small mountain for sale. He did some research and found that the property was not suitable for construction. There was too much rock and the cost of constructing on such a property would be cost prohibitive. In fact, that is the reason the owner put it up for sale in the first place. David was still intrigued and asked virtually ev- eryone he knew for their opinion, including family, friends, and acquaintances, as to whether he should buy this property or not. Individual after individual told him he was crazy for even consider- ing this idea. They asked, “Why would you take that financial risk?”
Ultimately, David took the plunge and bought the hill on the optimism that he could make it work and that this decision was either going to make him or break him financially. David somehow saw something no one else could see, an opportunity. He realized the construction market was up in this area and construction ma- terials were in high demand.
Shortly after purchase, David founded a gravel and stone com- pany. Little by little, rock by rock, David chopped away at the hill taking it down foot by foot and selling it as gravel for roadways and concrete and stone material to control erosion. His business took off until the hill was no more and all that was left was flat, rocky land. He recovered his initial investment halfway down the hill. David decided to continue his rock and stone producing company. Rock by rock, stone by stone, he continued until a crater formed out of the once big hill/small mountain. David became a multimil-
18 Occupational Health & Safety | JUNE 2018
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