There aren’t many safety success stories. This is one.
In October 1987, a herd of investors gathered in the ballroom of a posh Manhattan hotel. They were there to meet the new CEO of the Aluminum Company of America—or Alcoa, as it was known—a corporation that, for nearly a century, had manufactured everything from the foil, the metal in Coca-Cola cans to the bolts that hold satellites together.
In the past year, however, investor grumblings started. Alcoa's management had made misstep after misstep, unwisely trying to expand into new product lines while competitors stole customers and profits away.
So there had been a palpable sense of relief when Alcoa's board announced it was time for new leadership. That relief turned to unease when the choice was announced: the new CEO would be a former government bureaucrat named Paul O’Neill.
O'Neill took the stage like a chief executive- confident, dignified.
Then he opened his mouth.
"I want to talk to you about worker safety," he said. "Every year, numerous Alcoa workers are injured so badly that they miss day of work. Our safety record is better than the general American workforce, especially considering that our employees work with metals that are 1500 degrees and machines that can rip a man's arm off.
But it's not good enough. I intend to make Alcoa the safest company in America. I intend to go for zero injuries." The audience was confused.
"Now, before I go any further," O'Neill said, "I want to point out the safety exits in this room." He gestured to the rear of the ball-room. "There's a couple of doors in the back, and in the unlikely event of a fire or other emergency, you should calmly walk out, go down the stairs to the lobby, and leave the building."
Silence. The only noise was the hum of traffic through the windows. Safety? Fire exits? Was this a joke?
Eventually, someone raised a hand and asked about inventories in the aerospace division. Another asked about the company's capital ratios.
"I’m not certain you heard me," O'Neill said. "If you want to understand how Alcoa is doing, you need to look at our workplace safety figures. If we bring our injury rates down, it won't be because of cheerleading or the nonsense you sometimes hear from other CEOs. It will be because the individuals at this company have agreed to become part of something important: They’ve devoted themselves to creating a habit of excellence. Safety will be an indicator that we’re making progress and changing our habits across entire institution. That’s how we should be judged.” Investors panicked!
Within a year of O'Neil's speech, Alcoa's profits would hit record high. What's more, all that growth occurred while Alcoa became one of the safest companies in the world.
So how did O’Neill make one of the largest and most potentially dangerous companies into a profit machine and world class in safety?
By attacking one habit and then watching the changes ripple through the organization.
#safety #ceo #keystonehabits
Chief Information Officer at DCS Corporation
3moEvery year DCS is better and better!!