As you get ready for barbeques, pool parties, and fireworks to celebrate our nation’s independence, take some time to remember the importance of fireworks safety.  

Injuries from fireworks occur throughout the year, but there is a significant increase around the Fourth of July. In fact, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that 60% of all fireworks injuries occur during the 30 days around Independence Day. Over half of these injuries are burns to the face, head, and hands.

Fireworks also pose a risk to your property. According to the National Fire Protection Association, fireworks caused approximately 17,800 reported fires in 2011. Of these fires, 1,200 were structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,300 outside/other fires. An estimated $32 million in direct property damage resulted.

How can you celebrate safely this Fourth of July?

Whether you are building a new structure or renovating an existing one, there are significant risks of loss during the process. In 2011, commercial property losses due to wind and thunderstorms exceeded $30 billion. Meanwhile, fires caused $13.3 billion in direct property damage that year. These are just a few of the risks that construction projects face each day.

I previously wrote about how important it is for leaders to live and lead by their organizational vision. Couple this with an unwavering commitment to organizational values and there won’t be much that gets in the way of achieving that vision.

Still you will undoubtedly face moments that require great conviction to stay the course. Many of the examples of extraordinary leadership from Jim Collins’ Good to Great involve leaders who made huge “bet the farm” decisions on the future of their organizations. I imagine those decisions, and risks of that magnitude, came with moments of great self-doubt. I know they have for me.

Technical knowledge, professionalism, responsiveness, industry knowledge, and transparency are some of the characteristics risk managers are looking for in a broker. In recent years, transparency has been put under a microscope.

The 2 most common ways insurance brokers are compensated are: 

As baby boomers reach retirement age, many are choosing to work longer, thus changing the demographic makeup of your workforce. There are proven benefits – they are some of your most loyal and experienced employees, which makes it important for risk and safety professionals to look for targeted strategies to safeguard the safety of their aging workforce.

Studies show that one in four workers will be older than age 55 by 2030. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the numbers of workers age 55 and over will increase from 19 million in 2020 to 32 million by 2015. Workers have several motivators for working longer including improved medical treatment, financial needs (short-term and for retirement), the opportunity to use their talents and skills, to keep mentally and physically healthy, and the enjoyment of work. Regardless of the motivating factor, it is clear that the aging workforce trend is going to be bringing changes to the workforce in the years to come.

“A leader without a vision can't lead. And their followers will be lost. Therefore, effective leaders must have a clear vision, they need to be able to articulate that vision, and they need to engage and empower others to define and implement tactics and action plans to achieve the vision,” says my friend and business coach Bruce Gobdel. Bruce had a long career at a national public accounting firm and now spends a lot of his time mentoring and coaching emerging leaders.

I couldn’t agree more with Bruce. In 2011 our executive leadership team began the process of developing and clarifying our vision for the future at Gibson. We ultimately involved a number of key people – internally and externally – in this process to:

1. More fully vet and improve our ideas.
2. Include new strategies we had not considered.
3. Ensure that with a collaborative process we would have the greatest buy-in.

Maintaining a safe workplace is key to business success. Having a safe work environment will not only keep the probability and severity of occupational injuries at bay, but also give your workers the peace of mind to focus on their tasks without fear of physical threats. As WorkMT, a non-profit organization, explains, "A serious workplace injury or death changes lives forever – for families, friends, communities, and coworkers too." Occupational injuries, illnesses, and deaths in your business evoke fears and uncertainty; the mentality of "it could have been me" or "would I be next" will play against your workers' psychology, making them feel insecure and anxious.

Having workers who are constantly worried about getting injured will detrimentally affect your business productivity and reputation. Creating a safe workplace then becomes a goal for all business owners. When it comes to operating a forklift that can handle tons of loads in any given transaction, your chance of having a major injury automatically increases. Because of that, it is important for you to observe the following five safety steps and learn to create a worker-friendly environment:

As a business owner, I find my thoughts often gravitating to an area I feel very deeply about – taking care of others. At Gibson, we take care of our clients every day – it’s our core business to help them Protect What Matters Most. As CEO of Gibson, Ialso feel paternalistic in my responsibility to provide a great opportunity for our 100 employees. The other executives and I spend a great deal of time considering how our decisions might impact the long-term connection we strive for with our team.

I was chatting with my partner and Gibson’s CFO, Keith Stone. He’s also the lead trustee for our ESOP - GESOP as we say in “Gibson speak”. I asked him what he thought about the subject. Without hesitation, he said “You know what, I feel really good about the way we consider our employees in all we do. Creating the GESOP in 2010 was probably the best thing we could have done for our people over the long haul.”

Even though tornado season in Indiana is typically considered April to July, these severe storms can happen at any time and often come with little warning. It is important to be prepared!

What steps can you take to prepare your home and family for a tornado?

Recently Jerry Scott and I were revisiting some of the concepts from our blog last August on Level 5 Leadership: Do I Have Fierce Resolve? In that blog we talked about some of the research from the Collins book Good to Great. I always enjoy getting Jerry’s perspective froma twenty-plus year career managing people.

A Level 5 Leader recognizes that “Who” comes first. It’s about getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats and getting the wrong people off the bus. It’s about creating a culture of discipline – disciplined people, thoughts, and actions. Finally, it’s about a fanatical devotion to excellence and execution with the courage to confront reality and make the big “all or nothing” judgment calls. And with a total disregard for the CEO’s personal wants and needs, Jerry reminds me!