Protected from Mayhem

This morning, for the first time in a while, I was able to catch a short glimpse of the local news. During which, I saw a familiar commercial involving a character referred to as “Mayhem”. You undoubtedly know who I’m referring to but just in case, here’s a refresher. In these commercials, by Allstate, the character plays out somewhat relatable scenarios with the end tagline “…be better protected from mayhem…like me.”

This got me thinking.

Prevent mayhem to be protected from mayhem 

These days we’re all about protection. From identity theft to home surveillance, we can’t get enough of it. The problem is that too often our convenience tendencies, and presumably busy schedules, make protection an after thought. We take medications to counteract years of living in contrast to the needs of our bodies, and we spend large sums of money to fix large issues that could have easily been avoided if we dealt with them when they were first noted. Why don’t we take the necessary steps to help prevent these situations as opposed to trying to revert them later?

While not every situation is completely avoidable, many are. So why don’t we treat them accordingly? Perhaps it’s because we don’t know what’s at stake or feel the full effect until it’s too late. Perhaps it’s because we mistake financial or legal security (think Mayhem example) as sufficient.

But this isn’t the case.

At HowFactory, we have the pleasure of working with some of the finest, hard working people in the United States. Many of which are manufacturers, service providers, and educators. They all came to work with us because they knew there was a problem in their respective organizations…a knowledge gap. They knew that their teams weren’t being trained appropriately or didn’t have access to the information necessary to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. 

So what does this have to do with mayhem?

These knowledge gaps open the door for mayhem. Without the proper knowledge, your team members are at risk. They’re at risk of losing their jobs because they’re not adequately equipped to perform them. More importantly they’re at risk of injury or death. In either case, no amount of insurance coverage can help ease the strain of telling a loved one that their mom, dad, son, or daughter won’t be coming home today because you failed to protect them.

But the risk doesn’t end with your team. It also impacts your customers. When your employees don’t have everything they need to do their jobs correctly, mistakes are made. The result could be as simple as a returned item or as devastating as a fatality. 

So what can be done? You can make an effort. You can make occupational education a priory and provide readily available resources to your teams to prevent mayhem, not simply prepare for it.

It all starts with knowledge management. Get the basics here.