As commanding officer of USS Greeneville, Scott Waddle instituted a system that replaced command and control with commitment and cohesion, by engaging the hearts, minds and loyalties of workers. The system was sorely tested when his ship collided with a Japanese fishing training vessel, sinking it and killing nine onboard.
When Waddle later took responsibility for the accident, he and his crew were heralded for their honesty and candor, putting aside personal pride in an effort to determine the tragedy’s root causes. Waddle’s current mission is to deliver a powerful message of “just culture” that declares “there are no failures in life … only mistakes and from these mistakes, lessons.” For risk managers, his keynote will be keenly relevant