Today's Safety Minute

It's not the first time this has happened, nor will it likely be the last. On Friday, I lost all track of time while editing an article and left late for a meeting.

As I rushed into the building, I "saved time" by turning my phone to vibrate. Unfortunately, a woman leaving the building was also multi-tasking and ran into me as we both rounded the corner.

Because I'm a big believer in being nice, I immediately apologized. Apparently, the woman hadn't read my favorite business book and griped at me, "Get off your phone while you're walking!"

Now, it's one thing to be rushed and slightly distracted. It's another thing to be rushed and rude. Since I'm also a big believer in teachable moments, I told my new contact that there was no need to be rude, particularly when I apologized and she was just as much to blame for running into me.

This type of situation can put you in a real mood when you're already walking into a meeting slightly late.

Part of our meeting agenda reflected one of our participant's company philosophy: we had a safety minute. As it was explained to us, Company X is strongly committed to personal and employee safety. Thus, all meetings begin with a one-minute safety discussion.

(I feel certain that Company X's safety minute as much reflects a commitment to a corporate insurance discount as it does a commitment to its employees.)

Thanks to Company X, I now know how to safely evacuate the Dallas InfoMart. After attending half a dozen meetings there, it is nice to finally know how to get out if there's a fire.

Before moving to our next agenda item, we were asked if we had any other safety items to discuss. I raised my hand and shared:

Don't mess with your phone while walking.