This post summarizes Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s presentation titled “How Kids Are Learning To Kill” from the August 6, 2014 Securing & Surviving The Active Shooter Epidemic Seminar. It is meant to convey his ideas and opinions without endorsement or criticism. Therefore, the ideas and opinions in this post are not necessarily those of Gibson.

School Violence As We’ve Never Seen Before

How many students have been killed by school fires in the last 50 years?

Zero.

What about school violence in the United States?

In the 2006-2007 school year alone, 63 students were killed.

Workplace injuries can quickly take their toll on the injured worker, other employees and the company. Not only are their increased medical expenses, but there are production losses and added stress to your existing workforce – the costs add up fast! Working with an occupational health facility can significantly help a company control their occupational injuries, illnesses and the related expenses.

One of our seven core values at Gibson is Optimism Reigns: Attitude and outlook impact results.  While I appreciate and think all of our values are important, this one can make or break an organization. Unfortunately, I have personally witnessed the meltdown of teams, work ethic, and overall productivity in past jobs. Optimism and attitude were nowhere to be found. And the health of the organization suffered. Our CEO, Tim Leman, previously shared his take on this core value in his Rejoice! Thorns Have Roses! blog. 

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Jerry Scott. We hope you enjoy Jerry’s wisdom and perspective.

One of the coolest and most interesting things about working at Gibson is the influx of millennials. Having survived the “once in a generation” downturn, we are sourcing talent with gusto to meet the mission of our strategic plan to double the size of our company by 2022.

According to the Insurance Research Council, 16.3% of all drivers in Indiana do not carry any insurance. Outside of Indiana, one in seven drivers have no insurance. Of those who do carry it, they may only purchase the minimum limits required by the state. What happens if you get into an accident with one of these drivers? Will you be properly covered?

How do you handle a threat of violence made by a student? What if a teacher reports suspicious behavior, what can you do to evaluate this threat? How do you determine if a threat is legitimate?

The U.S. Secret Service developed the process known as “threat assessment” as a framework for assessing the potential for targeted violence. After the school shooting at Columbine in 1999, the Secret Service partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to better understand school shootings. What came out of this Safe School Initiative was a variation on the Secret Service’s threat assessment process to more appropriately apply to schools and the risks they face.

These six principles that were developed help establish a structure for identify, assessing, and managing individuals who may pose a risk of targeted violence to schools.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Scott Franko, President of Franko Design Concepts and Consulting. Tim Leman is taking the summer off from writing his weekly blog to spend time on an exciting project focused on culture and leadership. We hope you enjoy Scott’s wisdom and perspective.

Disney got it right when they told us the first rule of leadership through the words spoken by none other than Hopper, the big bug-bully from the 1998 movie "A Bug's Life". My kids were one, three and five. When this powerful rule was revealed on the silver screen, and ever since, I've reminded them repeatedly to always remember those four important words: "Everything is YOUR fault!"

“The effects of climate change are already occurring on all continents and across the oceans. The world, in many cases, is ill-prepared for risks from a changing climate.” – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Too often we hear climate change and just cast it off as the next generation’s issue to handle. Time for a reality check. Climate change is here. And it’s already having an impact. It’s one of the top emerging risks for businesses. Pay attention and get prepared. The IPCC’s Climate Change 2014 Report is one of many detailed studies that confirms the reality of the changing the climate and the risks it presents.

The FBI defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” Unfortunately, we have become all too familiar with active shooter incidents in recent years, especially in schools.

According to “The State of School Safety in America” report by SchoolReach, most school administrators surveyed felt well prepared to handle emergency communications with parents, but very few said they felt very prepared in regards to crisis communications, especially with the media. The first priority in a severe crisis, such as an active shooter situation, is ensuring the safety and well-being of students and staff. But crisis communication becomes key once the individuals are safe. 

It’s fair to say when we first started our GESOP back in 2010, not many people really understood what we were doing or what it meant to them. I’m not sure I even understood ALL the implications of the GESOP back then. But one thing was certainly clear: there was a buzz created when we let our employees, all of them, know they were now owners in Gibson.

Sure, they didn’t know exactly what that meant, but they knew they liked the sound of it. You could just tell there was something a little different in people. I called it the pride of being an owner. All of a sudden, Gibson was their company too. No doubt it was subtle, but it was definitely there.