PreAccident Investigation Podcast PAPod 565 - Fear, FOMO & Fixing Safety: A Conversation with Brent Sutton
Sep 27, 2025
Brent Sutton, a safety and organizational resilience expert, joins Todd Conklin to explore the future of safety thinking. They discuss the decline of lean and TQM, how commodification stifles innovation, and the vital role of weak signals in fostering resilience. The conversation takes a lighthearted turn with breakfast burritos and debates over cheese, but the core message emphasizes the need for small, 'safe-to-fail' experiments and leaders' responsibility to navigate workplace complexities. Staying curious about evolving safety practices is key to preventing stagnation.
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Breakfast Burritos And Cheese Confessions
- Todd and Brent open with light conversation about Santa Fe, breakfast burritos, and Brent's quirky dislike of raw (unheated) cheese.
- The banter sets a relaxed tone before diving into deeper safety and Lean discussions.
Leadership Holds Majority Responsibility
- Ishikawa argued leaders must accept most responsibility because they design work that creates mistakes.
- Treating workers as experts and shifting leadership from control to influence enables real learning.
Quality Circles Origin Story
- Brent traces quality circles to the 1960s and links them to learning and frontline engagement.
- He recounts early TQM origins and Ishikawa's role connecting quality circles to leadership influence.