WE ARE A GADGET NOT A THINKING SOCIETY! READER COMMENTS!

WE ARE A GADGET NOT A THINKING SOCIETY -- READER COMMENTS

James R. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D.
© May 30, 2010

A READER WRITES:

Hello Jim,

Your reviews of D4P are enticing, as was your offer of a free copy.

Don't assume people are ignoring you or are somehow disinterested in challenging topics. For example, I was traveling during the time your offer was sent and did not read it until a day or two later. At that point, I assumed the three copies were gone.

I went to the site you referenced and also looked at Mr. Livingston's Linked In profile. The .pdf section of the site is permission only. Mr. Livingston's profile indicates a long career in engineering prevention. Thank you for exposing me to the fact this is not an anachronistic concept.

Think of the computerization of automobiles, brought to the fore by Toyota's recent problems. Those systems have a great deal of redundancy built in to prevent failures. Several cars have no mechanical links controlling braking or acceleration. The software systems are designed to check for and analyze anomalies.

In the mechanical past, I've had brakes fail with no warning. Current systems, while not perfect, are far better than before.

The oil rig had prevention designed into the system that was over- ridden by humans who chose shortened cycle time and likely personal performance bonuses over safety and quality. I assume Mr. Livingston's book addresses that and appeals to your OD bent.

It is always stimulating to hear from your.

Michael

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DR. FISHER COMMENTS

Michael,

Thank you for your comment. You are correct DESIGN FOR PREVENTION does appeal to my organizational development (OD) bent. What’s more, it is like that evasive piece of the puzzle that eludes you.
Thanks to the perceptive words of Livingston, I am able to finally see the whole picture. It is an amazing document and I will send it to you if you will give me your address.

Be always well,

Jim

* * *

A READER WRITES:

Jim,

I have received my copy and started reading it. I am duly
impressed and intend to recommend it to my Engineering Psych (Human
Factors) Technical Network...

=;-Don

* * *

DR. FISHER RESPONDS:

Thank you, Dr. D.

We are in “no man’s land,” and it is nice to have someone that can see ahead as you and Livingston can.

Recently someone wrote me commenting on our present situation with a most astute observation. He wrote:

“There is no set way of managing anything for the long term. In almost all industry, the model for non-management/leadership based on running people and things into the ground with an eye only on short-term profit has fully reasserted itself. This has infected and genetically modified those we thought above it (Toyota, for example, has become fully Americanized).”

We are a society like a Major League baseball team that plays nine aging former Most Valuable Players even though they are well past their prime. Our system and its leadership are all wrong for the times. We look for people such as you to change that, and know you are doing your level best in that regard.

Be always well,

Jim