Motivational Safety Speaker Jeff “Odie” Espenship Headlines with Keynote at GM UAW Joint Conference

Target Leadership President and CEO, former USAF A-10 Fighter Pilot, Jeff “Odie” Espenship, was invited to be the kick-off Keynote speaker at the General Motors United Auto Workers Conference this past May 2012 in Las Vegas, NV.

The purpose of the joint conference is to drive a zero accident culture through inspiring team members to apply safety principles in and out of the work environment, make individual decisions collectively, and encourage “approachability.” Odie explains “approachability” as a personal mindset that every person on every job has a piece of information that you need. He warns that bottom up approachability can be difficult for those who feel threatened or intimidated by another’s experience, skill, and knowledge. He encourages supervisors to create a culture that welcomes employees to focus on following processes, and approaching those that who feel compelled to take a short cut – “It’s a conversation, not a confrontation,” says Odie.

Odie hits home with a story about job culture, “the way it’s done around here,” and also engineering better process safety into the equipment. Odie related job culture and process safety as major causes that took the life of his former USAF instructor pilot and good friend, Captain Scott Porter. Just “one switch” out of place in the cockpit killed them both.

Every organization has the “one switch” that can hurt or kill employees. It might be a piece of equipment that is not functioning properly, poor process engineering, lack of training, or improper procedural regimen.

Teaching people to “approach” others with ideas about how to improve in “the way it’s done around here” attitude is strong way to move towards a zero accident culture.

About Target Leadership
Odie’s Target Leadership message is one of the most sought after keynotes among Fortune 100 companies such as Exxon Mobile, Chevron & General Electric. Whether the audience is medical, manufacturing, chemical, utility, construction, banking, team sports, or retail, their programs will motivate the workforce to accelerate to new heights in leadership, safety, teamwork, and overall operational excellence.

For more information please visit https://targetleadership.com or call toll-free at (800) 392-1544.