A Video Reflecting on Leadership Lessons for Eliminating Harm and Operational Excellence

I had fun recently making this three-minute tribute to Paul O'Neill, Sr.

His values and leadership brought simplicity to a world of ever-evolving complexity. We miss you.

Below is the text from the video, with some annotations.

Take the Paul O'Neill challenge...

Where does your organization stand on the journey to organizational excellence?

3 Questions and 1 Measure

The questions (more on these below):

1. Respect
2. Meaningful Work
3. Recognition

The Measure

Worker Safety (DART): Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (a rate)

3Q's + 1 M = tell you everything you need to know about how well your organization is pursuing excellence

The 3 Questions

Can everyone in your organization answer "yes" to the following three questions every day? Read more about these questions and their importance.

1. Am I treated with dignity and respect by everyone I encounter?
2. Am I given the resources I need to make a contribution to the organization that adds meaning to my life?
3. Is my work recognized by someone whose opinion matters to me?

Plus .... 1 Measure…Worker Safety – DART

DART is an OHSA safety metric which is Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred Rate...

This measure can be used to compare organizations whether they are in the same industry or not. Every organization has to report this team member safety metric to OSHA and post it in the organization.

How is your DART rate determined?

DART = (N/EH) x 200,000

N = Number of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activity, and/or job transfer

EH = Total employee hours worked

200,000 = Equivalent of 100 full-time employees working 40 hours per week,50 weeks per year

O'Neill's Tenure as Alcoa CEO – 1987 to 2000

During this time frame...

• Employees: 55k to 142k… 2.5x higher
• Market Capitalization: $7.7b to $30.2b… 9x higher
• Lost Work Day Injury Rate: 1.86 to 0.15… (much lower, near zero)

It was 17x safer to work at Alcoa than in a typical U.S. hospital — is this surprising to you?

What is your organization’s DART rate?

Where does your organization stand?

3Qs + 1M = the Paul O'Neill Engagement factor

3Qs + 1M = Path to Organizational Excellence

Thanks, Paul, for making it so simple!!!

What are your thoughts about this video and the concepts shared here? Please leave a comment and let us know.