I once read an article about a boy who referred to himself as an expert juggler. And that got me thinking: What does one have to do exactly to be considered an expert at juggling? Soon after, I was reminded of the “10,000-hour theory,” created by K. Anders Ericsson – and made popular by Malcolm Gladwell and Geoffrey Colvin. If you're not familiar with this theory, it states that after 10,000 hours of practice at anything, you will have reached a level of expertise.
So then, I started thinking about all the hours that I've spent working with companies to help them reduce their winter slips and falls on ice and snow. I've spent 20+ years fielding phone calls and, in the process, learning about organizations large and small throughout North America in just about every business sector you can imagine.
During these conversations speaking to safety professionals, I would become very familiar with their trials and efforts to reduce accidents in outdoor ice and snow environments and the various types of shoe cleats for ice, crampons, spikes and other traction aids that they may have tried over the years.
After doing a little math (of which I am not an expert), I couldn’t help but smile. I had certainly far surpassed that 10,000-hour benchmark. Now, I love golf, but I am certainly no expert at it, but when it comes to my chosen career path – helping organizations reduce their industrial slip and fall injuries – go ahead and call me an expert!
So remember, if you are looking to improve your safety record by reducing or eliminating workforce slip and falls incidents, I am available to share my expertise.
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Jordan Bell is the Executive Vice President for Winter Walking. He has been helping organizations across a wide variety of business sectors prevent workplace slips and falls in ice and snow for over 20 years. Winter Walking currently helps some of the world’s largest organizations keep their employees both safer and more productive while working outdoors in the winter season. Contact jordan@winterwalking.com or visit www.winterwalking.com.
