A Google Search of “Safety Brief Memes” renders more hits than a former Company Commander cares to admit. Safety Briefs, usually delivered by a Commander or senior NCO at the end of the week, are a running joke. So much so, that the Secretary of the Army, Dr. Mark Esper, announced earlier this month that they were no longer mandatory. Safety Briefs were often a regurgitation of platitudes that sound more like an attempt to cover your behind than genuinely impart a worthwhile message. “Don’t drink and drive, no means no, don’t do drugs, don’t…., no…., etc. etc.” But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s save the baby before we throw out the bathwater.
I recently saw a meme making fun of Safety Briefs on the Facebook page of one of my former Soldiers and I couldn’t resist.
Story Time is an alternative to the typical Friday Safety Brief. I have never tried to define it before, but if I had to I suppose this would be my definition: “A group of fully grown, steely-eyed killers, sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce and being fully engaged in a dialogue that they will actually remember, with life lessons and a re-assertion of our shared values and vision.”
Safety Briefs Matter as Much as You Make Them Matter
As a Company Commander, I tried to “manage by walking around” as much as I was able. But, there is never as much direct interaction with your Soldiers as you would like. I quickly realized two things about Weekend Safety Briefs:
1. They were one of the few guaranteed times a Company Commander has to address his/her whole Company.
2. You are the only thing standing between them and their much anticipated weekend.
These two facts made me completely re-think how I approached these moments. Could you imagine a coach giving the SAME pre- and post-game speech EVERY SINGLE WEEK? If these briefs are fleeting and their attention is contested, then I have to make the most of them. They have to be engaging and they have to speak to the core of our message.
Why Story Time?
I truly believe humor is one of the most engaging forms of communication. It is entertaining, it can be insightful, and it loosens up your audience. The juxtaposition between the Form v. Function of Story Time was perhaps the most humorous.
Form – A “Childish” Affair
There is something so silly about grown men and women sitting in a semi-circle.
It is so ridiculous, that we have to make fun of it. I can’t remember how it got the name, but we just started calling it Story Time. I would pull out my chair, sit down, and have a genuine, unscripted (different from unprepared or unintentional) conversation with the formation. After the first few hit home, it became a transition from the rank-and-file formality of the Army to a more relaxed and family atmosphere. As First Sergeant held formation, I walked out and sat in my chair just outside the front door of the company, under the shade of some trees. First Sergeant would say “On my command, circle up around the Commander for Story Time – Fall Out.” It was always followed by a few knuckleheads sprinting to sit in front and plopping down to sit, legs crossed, like kindergarteners.
Function – Treat them Like Men & Women
What made this so funny, was how starkly it contrasted with our approach – the function of story time. One of the founding values of moving away from the typical “Don’t beat your spouse, don’t drink and drive, …” Safety Brief, was trust. “Treat them like men and women, and they will act like men and women. If I treat you like children, you will act like children. I trust you with bullets, explosives, and the lives of the Soldiers you lead. I am also going to trust you not to act outside our values during the weekend. If you start violating this trust, then we will reevaluate the approach.”
Do we really need to tell grown adults not to “beat your spouse, drink and drive, etc.?” Of course not! They know right from wrong. And, the ones who do wrong will do it in spite of being told to do otherwise. It only serves to treat these Soldiers like children. You get what you ask for/instill. If you instill a rules-based culture of “don’t do this, don’t do that,” then you will get responses that manifest in the negative.
Instead, Story Time is about pouring into a culture focused on WHO we are rather than WHAT we don’t do. If your Soldiers understand the why (vision) of the organization, who they are as part of a larger culture, and if they are values-centered, then they (for the most part) won’t do the things that Safety Briefs tell them not to do. They will act in accordance with their values.
Pour Into Them
Story Time was about reaffirming these values through diverse means. Sometimes, it was a story I read in the news. Other times it was a parable or message. One example of a story we used, that I read to the formation just like a bedtime story, was an article found in SperryBaseballLife.com, titled 17 Inches (highly recommend you check it out).
No matter the style of message, it always centered on a lesson that pointed back to our shared values. The best ones became a lasting theme or parable that could be referred back to in the future. Story time also included awards, reenlistments, and acknolwedgements of Soldiers – by name – who did things that week that demonstrated our values.
Mix It Up
If treating Soldiers like children is the #1 problem with Safety Briefs, the second largest problem is that they are often stale. When you hear the same message over and over again, lacking conviction, and in the same tired format, it loses its impact. Soldiers start to tune you out. Story Time has the same risk. You need to mix it up!
One of our shared values was being “aggressive.” We had a rough couple of weeks, with the pent up nervous energy that comes with weeks of garrison operations leading up to a big training event. When First Sergeant released the Company, he sent them to where I was standing up on a small mound in front of the Company. Instead of a semi-circle and my normal chair for story time, we had them get in a circle and did combatives. But we called it Thunder Dome (Mad Max circa 1985 reference). It was a controlled environment to mitigate risk. Neither rank nor position were considered. No one, minus those with injuries, was exempt. We settled beefs and bonded as a family, again – pointing back to one of our shared values.
Audience + Moment = Opportunity
Public speakers need know ONE rule: If you know and speak to your audience in a form that takes advantage of the moment at hand, you have an opportunity to make a lasting impact. Sure there are other important factors – e.g. structure, form, function, messenger, illiteration, etc. But, if get your audience and your moment right, you can make an impression.
Getting rid of “Safety Briefs” is not a bad thing – most things done simply because they are mandatory are done poorly. But, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Taking a moment to creatively and intentionally address your formation at the end of a week is a worthwhile practice. You have an audience, don’t waste it.
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