I just came off a conversation with a very wise person from Ireland. Alan works in the fishing industry and travels extensively around the globe. Someone from the Ugandan fishing community shared this picture with Alan.
Alan then reshared the picture with one of his friends in the village and Patrick’s immediate reaction was, ‘I like 👍🏻 it already.’
There is much to draw from this picture. Two huge crocodiles, jaws secured with a rope, blindfolded and handcuffed by ropes at the front and back legs. Every aspect of securing appears so skilful. The visual stimulation has been blocked because it can make the animal anxious and even aggressive when it finds itself surrounded by people.
Even the reason for trapping the crocodiles can vary from hunting all the way to collecting vital information for the protection of the species. The fact that there are people surrounding the crocodile and taking pictures should raise questions about the purpose of their gathering. In many ways, the picture raises a number of questions.
I like 👍🏻 it already
So what’s behind Patrick’s reaction? To me Patrick represents an archetype (a familiar pattern) of the culture of risk and safety. When faced with a surprise, Patrick wants to be seen in control.
Our senses were never meant to give us an accurate picture of reality. Our senses were meant to give us a sense of reassurance that we are in control of our lives. ‘I like 👍🏻 it already’ is our instinct at work when faced with a reality that we cannot piece together. Like, share, fun, love. Sadly, emojis have robbed us of our unique abilities to process our emotions and think critically when we face with reality.
Are you surrounded by emojis?
There’s no reason you should believe me. Let’s do a thought experiment. Print this picture of the crocodiles and take it around your office place. Now simply ask people what are they seeing? The one thing you can almost forget about is someone asking an open question. The other thing you may find is a quick comforting reaction. ‘That looks horrible’ or ‘Why would someone do that’.
In my experience, the most opinionated reactions often come from the people who work in the safety departments. This is unsafe, unsafe practice, unsafe behaviour, no ‘risk assessment’, these people shouldn’t come so close or words to that effect. An animal lover may say that’s too cruel. Someone from the fishing community might say, ‘that’s life.’
This little exercise helps to understand many things including risk perception and culture. It also helps us understand who can hold doubt, even for a few seconds, and think under pressure. In high-risk operations, you want people to think critically, challenge the assumptions, set their pride aside, refrain from offering a solution, acknowledge the limits of their expertise and ask open questions. What are you seeing? What else are you seeing? What does that mean to you? How does this picture make you feel? To Patrick, I would ask, what do you like about it?
The last thing you want in a high-risk operation is to be surrounded by emojis.
