Author: Scott Duvall
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The Original
I honestly don’t recall where I cribbed this quote from. The “Absence of Accidents” part appears in a few different books and sources. Each author tends to define the “presence” part a few different ways. This was one of the first quotes I put on the board, appearing early in 2020. Since that time, I…
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What are you looking for?
When investigating accidents and failures, professionals seek to find cause. This is a different concept than finding fault. Causes are factual, faults are personal. Exercising the separation between these two items is critical to creating progress. Good leaders avoid playing the blame game, and even when individuals have a direct action in a root cause,…
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‘Cause we got a little ole convoy, rockin’ through the night.
“…In a Kenworth, pulling logs. Cabover Pete with a Reefer on, and a Jimmy, Haulin’ hogs. “ In 1975, “C.W. McCall” released “Convoy”, capturing the epitome of the CB Radio craze of the 1970’s. In the 50 years since, it has become an anthem of trucking nostalgia. (Youtube Link) In 1977, at the height of…
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But you don’t have to take my word for it.
“Take a Look, It’s in a Book, A Reading Rainbow.” Much like Sesame Street before it, Reading Rainbow taught a generation of kids about reading. Produced and Hosted by Levar Burton, and building off his fame in Roots and Star Trek: The Next Generation, each week PBS brought a celebrity and a book into the…
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Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart.
Army of Darkness (1992) The 3rd of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy, this is the movie that perfectly blended horror and comedy. It’s pretty self contained, so don’t be afraid to start here and work backwards.
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Cloudy with a chance of wrong.
Humans are emotional creatures. When something doesn’t work, it’s normal to react. We can be disappointed, angry, shameful, prideful. We put effort into things, and we want to succeed. There’s like four-thousand different inspirational quotes about dealing with failures. All sorts of successful people will gladly tell you about all the times they weren’t. But…
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It is the start, not the end.
This quote comes from the book The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error by Sidney Dekker. In it, Dekker explores the “bad apple theory”, whereby our operations and SOP’s are inherently safe except for those few unreliable people working within it. Dekker questions the idea that concluding “human error” is the end of a safety…
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Book Club 2024
Thank you to everyone who helped gather this list. I read more books in 2024 than any other year of my life, in large part due to having so many good recommendations to pick from. I look forward to having the same success in 2025, and have all of your to thank for it. I…
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I get my suits at Garak’s Clothier’s, on the Promenade.
Another of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition. And also a pretty good piece of general advice.