FIR Podcast Network

Safety communication is vitally important. Besides the obvious vital outcome of avoiding injury or death, a focus on safety tells employees the company cares about them. There is another dimension of safety communication that is often overlooked altogether. Psychological safety may not be addressable by wearing PPE and eliminating hazards like exposed electrical wires, but it is equally important in achieving the goal of employees being able to bring their best selves to work every day and go home whole every night. All these dimensions of safety communication will be on the table when four IABC Fellows join moderator Shel Holtz at noon Eastern Time on Thursday, October 15.
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In his book, “The Great Game of Business,” Jack Stack introduced the business world to open-book management. The Great Game of Business website points out, “Open-book management at its most effective far outperforms a definition as simple as “sharing financial information with employees”. Open-book isn’t just about opening your financials to your company, it’s about responsibility, ownership, results, and growth, all of these things can come together to drive the needle forward in your organization. With proper training and knowledge, all levels of your business start to act and engage just like the owner, or leadership.”

Clearly, communication is a vital dimension of open-book management. On the next Circle of Fellows, four IABC Fellows will look at the communicator’s role, including introducing the concept to leadership. At noon ET on Thursday, September 17, join moderator/Fellow Brad Whitworth and IABC Fellows Jim Shaffer (who worked with Stack on the concept), Tosh Hattori, and Amanda Hamilton-Attwell for a fascinating conversation.
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Episode 43 of Circle of Fellows — back in March 2019 — addressed the communicator’s role in supporting their companies’ diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts. The topic has undergone dramatic transformation since then and, notably, since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Suddenly, companies that had merely checked the D&I box are revisiting their commitments and introducing more meaningful policies and practices, in addition to taking direct action.
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