The Mossad? The Mossad is Israel’s intelligence service with a reputation for respect, fear, professionalism, boldness, expertise and execution surrounded by myth and mystery. In his book, “The Secret History of the Mossad,” author Gordon Thomas quoted the operating principles – or the cultural values -- for the agency as laid down by Meir Amit, a legendary Mossad director. I paraphrase:
In the current issue of the Harvard Business Review the cover story details how senior-level executives, both men and women of course, deal with the work-life balance hassle. The takeaway: everyone struggles with it; there are options that depend on things like ambition, age, individual financial resources, and individual support networks.
I was at a trade show last week where if I heard this mantra once, I heard it from different people ten times: “We’re doing everything we can to take costs out of our business.” There were variations on the theme: “It’s all about cost reduction, baby.” “We’re helping our customers drain costs out of their system.”
Just finished reading a fascinating book, “The Men Who Lost America” (Yale University Press, 2013), by Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy, a history professor at the University of Virginia.
Building EHS bench strength and ensuring a steady supply of safety "talent" going forward is going to be challenge, given safety staff cutbacks, reliance on consultants and contractors, and not much interest among U.S. students in careers in safety. Expect to see more traditional safety work (Training, audits, accident investigations, recognition activities, communication services and goal-setting) being assumed by line workers.
Last week the Politico Playbook daily newsletter noted the coming retirement of Rep. George Miller (D-CA) by saying the 40-year veteran of Congress was one of the last of the Democratic “Watergate babies”… “part of a post-Vietnam 70s generation filled with moral certitude.”
News item: Sen. Chuck Grassley has joined 42 other senators in requesting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to stop unlawful regulations on small family farms. “OSHA is overstepping its bounds here,” Grassley said.
