Comments on: Permission to Make Mistakes

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:10:38 +0000

Do you think the Boeing folks had any idea of the impact they were going to make with the introduction of the pre-flight checklist? I doubt it. Not only did they save countless lives, they initiated the creation of a whole industry (electronic flight bag). What an awesome example of how risk management is just as much about opportunities as it is about risks.

Thanks again for the comment, Nicholas!

By: Thomas M. Bragg

Thomas M. Bragg — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:49:08 +0000

RT @tombragg: Err.. My most popular post to date. Check out the comments. Permission to Make Mistakes http://bit.ly/aByHzP

By: Nicholas Hawtin

Nicholas Hawtin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:28:47 +0000

Glad to see people agreeing. Congrats, Tom, good topic!

Perhaps risk managers ought to talk about the risk of missing the opportunity to capitalize on mistakes.

Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto writes about the lessons Boeing learned from their now famous B-17 crash in 1935, which led to the creation of the pre-flight checklist. Boeing did many different things right to get where they are today, but the checklist, a direct result of a catastrophic event, is one that helped get them there.

Risk managers need to sell the message that mistakes are also opportunities.

By: Mary Myers

Mary Myers — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:28:21 +0000

RT @PapercutPM: RT @tombragg: Permission to Make Mistakes http://bit.ly/cdQ1Pe

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:50:46 +0000

Thanks for joining the conversation, Shim! I see the same “over process” reaction. We spend hours and hours writing process documents to cover every possible scenario (corner cases), no matter how unlikely. Why? To eliminate the possibility of individual mistakes. I work in the aerospace/defense world so rigorous process is warranted to a degree, but the approach “more is better” in process is extraordinarily expensive and demoralizing. I’m behind you 100%!

Sorry for the bit of rant. Apparently you touched a nerve Thanks again for commenting. I look forward to our future discussions!

By: Nirav Patel

Nirav Patel — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:57:13 +0000

RT @PapercutPM: RT @tombragg: Permission to Make Mistakes http://bit.ly/cdQ1Pe

By: Shim Marom

Shim Marom — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:25:36 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve reached the same conclusion lately when thinking about the level of over processes that organizations enforce because of their fear that something might go wrong. The key to reducing the unncessary process burden is allowing people to make mistakes without the fear that severe punishments will follow. Let’s allow people to make mistakes with the expectation that overall processes will be vastly simplified.

Cheers,

Shim.

By: Geoff Crane

Geoff Crane — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:07:46 +0000

*BIG CHEER* @tombragg glad to! it was a great post and something i'm grappling with with a client atm LOL http://bit.ly/cdQ1Pe

By: Geoff Crane

Geoff Crane — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:04:09 +0000

RT @tombragg: "Be grateful for mistakes for in mistakes lie wisdom" ~ Thomas M. Bragg Inspired by @PapercutPM http://bit.ly/8XtqPt

By: Geoff Crane

Geoff Crane — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:04:05 +0000

RT @tombragg: RT @PapercutPM: RT @tombragg: Permission to Make Mistakes http://bit.ly/cdQ1Pe