When setting goals, be clear and specific. Obvious, isn’t it? Maybe not.

Have you seen that ridiculous sticker on the back of big trucks? You know the one. “Safety is my goal.”

For Pete’s sake, if safety is your goal, then stay home. Goal achieved.

No, sir, Mister Trucker, your goal is to deliver your cargo. How you do so is another matter.

And how you do things does matter. The more people understand ‘the way we do things around here’, the less direct supervision they need.

‘The way we do things’ should help people ‘get it’ so that they can get on with it. And in your absence, it should help them deal appropriately with unexpected nonsense.

But make sure that The Way never becomes ‘but we’ve always done it this way’, because then you’ve stopped learning. And once learning stops, safety as a goal begins to make sense.

Welcome to the nonsense divide.