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#33: The day you're born and the day you discover why
90 Plays6 years ago
Podcast series host Jill James talks with Mark Hernandez, Navy man, construction veteran, EMT, OSHA compliance officer, speaker, coach, author, and safety professional. Mark’s remarkable journey began at the bottom of a scaffolding operation, when he raised his hand for a late-night safety coordinator role, leveraging his bilingual talent…and never looked back. You’ll learn why a combination of technical and soft skills are essential for any aspiring safety pro, the difference between mentors and maestros, and the “full dimensional” approach to safety.
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Transcript
Introduction of Episode 33 and Guest Mark Hernandez
00:00:10
Speaker
This is the Accidental Safety Pro brought to you by Vivid Learning Systems and the Health and Safety Institute. Episode number 33. My name is Jill James, Vivid's Chief Safety Officer, and today I'm joined by Mark Hernandez, who is a safety professional and he's also a speaker trainer coach in the Houston area. Mark, welcome to the show and thanks for being here.
00:00:31
Speaker
Jill, thank you so much for the opportunity to serve and add value to your podcast in episode 33. Well, I wish that was my age. You and I both, brother. Oh man, it sounds like we already have some things in common.
How Safety Found Mark Hernandez
00:00:49
Speaker
Oh well Mark you know that we start all these podcasts out similarly by asking people you know how they got into the safety profession and then also if our audience's ears perked up hearing that you're a speaker trainer coach and you know if somebody out there is thinking a public speaker that sounds kind of interesting or oh my gosh I could never do that
00:01:13
Speaker
You know, stay tuned because I think Mark's going to have some great things to share about being a professional public speaker as well. Oh, absolutely. I'd love to share that. And again, my journey
00:01:26
Speaker
Well, it's been quite some time to get to where I'm at, just like many people. I didn't start in school. I didn't start in safety. As a matter of fact, I started in the Navy, graduated school, went to the Navy, got married, and
00:01:48
Speaker
got out of the navy and really didn't know exactly what i wanted to do so i started in construction i did numerous jobs everything from a pipe fitter helper to a painter helper and then i landed a job in scaffold so let me just pause right there for anybody who has
00:02:10
Speaker
ever worked in scaffold or on a scaffold or looked at a scaffold let me just tell you it's hard work yeah it is very very laborsome work and let's just give a shout out to all the scaffold builders out there you're the first one in and last one out
00:02:26
Speaker
And for me, I built scaffolds for eight years and it was a lot of hard work. And I honestly didn't really have a goal in mind. I didn't have an aspiration to do anything different. I was comfortable.
00:02:47
Speaker
with building scaffolds, that's not saying the scaffold building in itself is something that is not honorable, all workers honorable, but I didn't see myself doing anything different. And so I did not look for
Transition to Safety Coordinator
00:03:05
Speaker
safety, safety found me. And what I mean by that is one night on a turnaround,
00:03:15
Speaker
Well, prior to the turnaround, they're all asking everybody, who wants to be on the turnaround? Everybody, is there any, just more money? That's a no brainer, that's an IQ question. And what does turnaround mean when you're a scaffold builder for people who don't know? Great question. So a turnaround is when a specific within a refinery, a chem plant, industrial type settings, chemical refinery, industrial settings, they bring a specific unit down for maintenance. And they'll normally call that a turnaround.
00:03:43
Speaker
And in the power division or power industry, GE, things of that nature, they call those outages. Same difference, just different terminology. So in this case, I was working at a refinery, and they asked everybody who wants to be on the turnaround, and I raised my hand. There's more money. But they specifically asked me, because again, I'm bilingual,
00:04:11
Speaker
And at that time, I was a lead man. And I had been a bump up supervisor from time to time. And they asked me, say, hey, Mark, come here, come here, come here, come here.
00:04:23
Speaker
And they say, hey, man, would you like to be work safety all night? You're bilingual, right? And I looked at myself, I said, hmm, Brown Skin Hernandez. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe, yeah. And I said, yeah, I'd like to try that out. But again, in the back of my mind, I'm just saying, less work. Phew. Yeah. But I didn't realize what I was getting into. Yeah. So I go to nights.
Pursuing Education and Mentorship
00:04:50
Speaker
I work the turnaround nights as a safety coordinator.
00:04:54
Speaker
and find out, I'm like, oh my gosh, if I can do this, this is easy work. Walk around. Yeah, I presume it because all I do, compared to scaffold building, whether you're erecting, dismantling, it's hard work. And now I'm just walking around with the pad in my hand. I mean, there's no brainer doing audits and telling people, hey, you're doing this wrong, you're doing that wrong.
00:05:19
Speaker
But then I, I began to talk to people and, uh, you know, the older individuals in the industry, some peoples would, uh, 20, 15 years. And I talked to, so what do I need to do to get into this safety stuff? And they said, you need to be an EMT. I didn't know what the heck an EMT was. I said, emergency medical technician. Uh, and I said, okay, well I'll do that. So I went to school and I did it. Huh.
00:05:47
Speaker
Interesting answer, uh-huh and and there was one specific time when I was prior to Well, even after I started doing Turnarounds and little this and they would they would bump me up to a safety Coordinator and then I go back down to a leading man. Oh, so that went on for about almost a year Hmm kind of a yo-yo of job responsibilities, huh? It was but really I again I
00:06:15
Speaker
I, what my perception of a safety person at that time, and you're talking almost 20 years ago, going back to episode 33, right? Yeah, right, right, exactly. And so my perception of a safety person is an individual who walks around with a notepad.
00:06:34
Speaker
Tells you mark you're doing this wrong Jill you're doing this wrong the safety cup the safety cup That was the the mindset and the behavior of the safety person at that time Whereas today is totally different But that was the that was my model that was the only model that that I had in front of me So that's what I went with And and then I went to school and
00:07:01
Speaker
um well let me let me just rewind just a little bit prior to go to school us hispanics we we eat together and what i mean by that let's just picture us you you're hispanic right now joe okay you're hispanic okay so we're having lunch and we put our our what we'll do is we'll put our meals in in the middle and we all grab yeah
00:07:28
Speaker
And there was one gentleman, and I still remember his name, we called him Don Aliber. Don is with respect. Aliber was his name. We gave him that Don because he was what we call a maestro in the Hispanic culture. He's a person who has knowledge, training, experience, and one key thing is influence.
00:07:49
Speaker
Like a competent person, if you're going to call it, in the world of safety. Yeah. Yes. I got it. But in the Hispanic culture, the maestro is paramount because they have knowledge, training, experience, and they have influence. Yeah. So we're eating and Donal was my maestro. Again, when I started up, he took me under his wing. Yeah. And what's interesting, if you go out anywhere right now,
00:08:17
Speaker
to Hispanic crew and you ask them who's the maestro, you will have maybe one hand go up. See, there's a difference between the maestro and the hefe, which is the boss, or the hefe, which is a supervisor. Big difference. One has influence, one has a title. And we'll get to the leader side here in a little bit. But I wanted to make that distinction because there's a, when I came,
00:08:45
Speaker
into that field, I didn't know anything. One who did knew something and he began to point to me. He knew, he had knowledge, training, experience, and he built, leveraged influence with me over time. So, we're having lunch.
00:09:05
Speaker
And Don Alibert is about 54 years old, very tall, hazel green eyes. Strong man, he could probably outdo 20 year olds. And I'm pausing because I could just see him across the table.
00:09:25
Speaker
Yeah. I'm picturing his green eyes right now. Yeah. A man who's probably built a lot of scaffolds, right? A lot of scaffolds. Hard worker. Hard worker. Hands very, very, you know, back then we didn't use a lot of gloves, but you can see the picture, but I'm pausing because of the amount of influence and trade experience and just sheer love that he poured into me. But over lunch,
00:09:57
Speaker
Donalibert reads across, and he says, in Spanish, ¿qué tasa siento aquí? What are you doing here? And the question kind of goes over my head. And I say, in Spanish, I say, nada, pasé me la salsa. Nothing, pass me the salsa. Again, the question went over my head. We're having lunch.
00:10:17
Speaker
You're like, what'd I do wrong? What'd I do wrong? What I loved about Donalibut is he didn't stop. He was a coach but didn't know it. He was a coach but didn't know it. And so he continued the question again. He asked me again. He said, Mark, what are you doing here? And then about that time,
00:10:42
Speaker
He leans forward, and picture the gentleman in front of you. You can see his beautiful green eyes. And then he begins to ask a serious question. He says, Mark, you were born here. I said, yes. Mark, you know English. I said, yes. He said, Mark, you graduated high school. And I said, yes. And then he said, Mark, Mark, you also went to the Navy, didn't you? And I said, yes.
00:11:11
Speaker
And then leans forward just a little bit more and he says, Mark, what are you doing here, Mark? This job is for the donkey.
00:11:29
Speaker
and so and all work is honorable all work is honorable you're right and and so what what what he did for me then an individual pays for $300 session for a coaching session yeah right yes and what i mean by that is guy when we lose sense of our value and who we are and what we could become we don't know our potential
00:11:58
Speaker
And I needed somebody else to see that Yeah, and your maestro saw that potential in you and he called it out now Yeah, what's what's important is when I define what a maestro was because if if he would have told me and I didn't know him or her What I the Hernandez would have rose up and probably hit him Yeah, but because he poured into me Yeah
00:12:25
Speaker
I took it. Let me ask you guys something. Have you ever been told truth that gets your stomach and just turns it?
00:12:35
Speaker
Oh yes, as you're telling this story, I'm thinking of one in particular that's not unlike yours. And it was by a mentor that I had probably mid-career. And I was in my second professional job and I had this man who was mentoring me and we were talking on the phone one night and I was telling him how miserable I was in my job.
00:12:59
Speaker
And I said, I just don't know what to do. And he's like, let me get this story straight. He said, you took this position because you wanted, and he used a horse analogy. He said he wanted to, you thought you would be brushing the horse, making its coat shiny, getting it, getting it ready to be shown. And it was going to ride beautifully. And instead you're in the back of the barn shoveling shit.
00:13:26
Speaker
And I said, God, that's right. And he said, so is that where you're happy or do you think you can make that horse shiny? I'm like, I want to make the horse shiny. He's like, then get out of where you are.
00:13:41
Speaker
And I'm like, okay. And he was pointing out that I have potential and that I could do something else. And then he ended that session in a way that this guy would by reading me this beautiful passage by the mystic Rumi about things that will come into your home and upset it, but welcome them all as important strangers.
00:14:07
Speaker
that's powerful it's it's it's called the guest house and so yeah when you're telling this story i'm i'm thinking aren't we so um fortunate those of us who have had those maestros in our lives right yeah and because this this journey this climb this run is is is there's no rogue warriors
00:14:30
Speaker
You know, we're in this together and in the field of safety, it's about people, it's about their experience, about the connection. And if I could go back to Don Oliver's story real quick, because
From Education to OSHA: Mark's Journey
00:14:43
Speaker
yours was powerful. I think if everybody listening could just pick up the phone right now and recall an instance in their life where somebody poured into your life or challenged you like that gentleman did and like Don Oliver did,
00:14:59
Speaker
Not only call them, thank them. Because gratitude comes when we recognize what's poured in. Yeah. Gratitude, that just came to me. Gratitude comes when you recognize what has been poured in because you have to recognize what's been poured into you first. And so when, don't I ever say that to me? I froze. But that night, Jill? Yeah.
00:15:28
Speaker
That night I cried like a baby because I know it to be true. But then I asked myself, okay, so Mark, Mark, are you gonna stay here as a scaffold builder, all workers honorable, but is that your true potential? Is that what your life's purpose is? See, everybody here has a purpose, has a meaning, has a reason for life. I love what John Maxwell, my mentor, said. He says, there's two important days in your life. The day you're born and the day you discover why.
00:15:59
Speaker
the dash in between the grave guess what that's the time you're allotted to do the work and so everybody on the call you're you're not a safety professional that's a title what we are are individuals here to serve others at the highest level so they themselves can become more because if
00:16:26
Speaker
If we only see ourselves as a safety profession, I look at things very technical. But I look at things of a service-minded, service-oriented person, now it's more than a title, it's more of a meaning, fulfillment. And I think at the end of the day, when we look at ourselves in the mirror, that's truly what we wanna do, is live a fulfilled life. And after that, I challenge myself to say, okay, so what would it take? What do I need to do?
00:16:55
Speaker
I went to school, and again, I'll be honest, I made C's and D's in school. And I'm going to school, and I hear this OSHA stuff, and I start taking my books back to work, because again, I'm still working and going to school. Just like many of us either on the call or done it, hey, and high five to you for doing that.
00:17:19
Speaker
Right. Right. And so, Mark, what were you going to school for? Like, where did like did occupational safety and health? Yeah. OK. OK. Yeah. So I was told, hey, you you want this full time position. You need a degree. And well, I don't have that. So I need to go get it. So I went and when I was going to school.
00:17:40
Speaker
I looked up, there was a report we had to do and I looked up OSHA, www.OSHA.gov. Everybody knows that. And if you don't, you're in safety, something's wrong. It's not a small town in Wisconsin. Yeah. And so I was looking and
00:17:57
Speaker
I find these vacancies and I'm like, what the heck is a vacancy? And lo and behold, it's a job posting. And they have construction safety specialist, construction specialist. And I started going through all these different vacancies for OSHA. And again, I'm a construction guy. Are they going to tell me no?
00:18:21
Speaker
What do you have to lose when you have, I mean, you just, if you don't move, you don't take the risk, you will never know. So I took the risk. Long story short, I put out there and then I started screwing down and said, Spanish construction space. Oh, maybe there, I got Spanish. I got that. I got construction. I got construction.
00:18:46
Speaker
So again, back then, this is before, even right now, the Hispanic fatality rate is two times the national average. This is before Secretary Hilda Solis came into play where she was doing a lot of emphasis on Hispanic outreach. And so I put in 14 vacancies to work for OSHA. And I told myself, I told my wife, I was like, who knows? Who knows?
00:19:15
Speaker
But if I would have stayed in Skafo, I would have never known. I would have never jumped because somebody had to tell me, what are you doing here? Yeah. And guess what happened? Well, I hope this has got a good next piece. Well, there was a lot of no's. Let me just tell you that. OK. But you don't need all. You only need one yes. One. You only need one yes.
00:19:43
Speaker
And I have a presentation called The Pursuit of Yes, which kind of talks about that. And the Houston North OSHA office, which had 200 applicants, called me up and said, hey, you got you an applicant, you put in.
00:20:01
Speaker
And I tell myself, for real? And so he tells me, I still remember Don, Wayne, his name, and we're still good friends. And we sat down, and because it was a Spanish-speaking vacancy, they kind of did, a gentleman kind of spoke to me in Spanish, kind of gave me that linguistic kind of test. And guess what? I got the job.
00:20:29
Speaker
Awesome, awesome. Again, for anybody out there who's thinking you can't achieve, you can't do, guess what? I was a guy who didn't have a degree, I didn't make a lot of good grades, scaffold, construction background experience, and I got hired to work for OSHA. You got a government job, oh my gosh. Well, and technically your second one, because you were with the Navy before.
00:20:58
Speaker
Yeah. And so I worked with the Houston North Ocean office for, I started as a compliance officer, did that for five years. And then I moved to the Houston South office and I became what's called a CAS, a compliance assistant specialist, did that for seven years, which is under cooperative programs, you do outreach, you do partnerships, alliances, and you do VPP outreach.
00:21:29
Speaker
So consultation for, that might be a term people know, right? Consultation is on the state side, and that's something that's brought up a lot. People say, well, you're with OSHA, can you consult? And we're like, we're not enforcement, but we don't consult, we just advise and give information. Yeah, you were on the federal side. And when I worked for OSHA, I worked on the state side, so we had enforcement and consultation. So yeah, thanks for clarifying that.
00:21:56
Speaker
Yeah, and we worked closely with our state counterparts to do outreach with small businesses and things of that nature, those like, for example, Hispanic outreach, which became a huge emphasis. I was the Hispanic, for Region 6, I was a Hispanic coordinator.
00:22:15
Speaker
But I did a lot of work in construction. I went back to my roots. And, you know, because unfortunately, there's a lot of, within the construction industry, there's a lot of hazards, there's a lot of issues, but there's also opportunities. And I think that's where we as safety professionals can help bridge that gap as not no longer the safety cop, but the safety coach.
00:22:42
Speaker
help challenge help inform help inspire people to realize hey it's not something that yes it's wrong but what's the next right move right can we do right now what's the opportunity in front of you and um that's where i look at things now because you know everything
00:23:06
Speaker
Up to up to this point has been an amazing opportunity amazing, you know working for ocean things that nature and now back in private, but There's there's a lot of work that needs to be done, but there's a lot of good being done as well and and so there's a lot of because again for me and
00:23:28
Speaker
I look at potential just as potential was looked in me and sought out. That's what I look for in others. To be that Don or that Maestro, like you're talking about, to be that for someone else.
00:23:44
Speaker
Mark, I'm curious, when you started that job with OSHA and you're in compliance for those first five years and you had thought back in the scaffold building days, the safety person was the safety cup with the notepad and now you literally have the notepad and a badge to go with it, but you're you and you've grown in your mindset
00:24:10
Speaker
about work and honorable work and seeing potential in people. How did that grow in you in those first few years with OSHA in the way that you did your job? Because it's a weird thing to have that badge.
00:24:28
Speaker
It is. As a compliance officer, I'll tell you what, and again, hats off to any of those listeners and all those individuals at the federal and state level that support and help our workplaces stay safe.
00:24:43
Speaker
It was, for me, a very different transition because as a compliance officer, you're looking at everything from a problem-facial case to make sure it's, is it, will it stand a legal sufficient case? And will it meet the elements to be able to cite? And I tell people all the time, even now when I'm out there looking,
00:25:04
Speaker
Hey, that, that ocean guy is still back there. I mean, there's a reason why I stop and look left to right. Yep. You know, cause in my head, everything in plain view is plain view. Uh-huh. You and me, you and me both. I just stop and I look left. I look right. I look perimeter. I look up. I look down. I'm like, which way am I going to go first? Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's how we were taught. You stop pan left to right, up, down. And there's anything in plain view off and.
00:25:34
Speaker
And I had a lot of opportunity to go in different industries, but with respect to safety cops, safety coaching, construction, I tell you what, one of the biggest things that is really for me, gratifying to hear even today,
Balancing Technical and Soft Skills
00:25:52
Speaker
then and today is that, hey Mark, you're not like those other guys, and hey Mark, you can really talk to us, and hey Mark, hey, that what you did really helped. And the reason is, I can relate.
00:26:08
Speaker
But when you're too technical, and again, please don't get me wrong, we need the CSPs, we need the CIHs, but break it down, break it down to the people level. And what I mean by that is because I was a helper, because I was a scaffold builder, because I was a superintendent, because I was in all those different capacities and in compliance now,
00:26:36
Speaker
I look at them and say, hmm, I was there. I was there, but I'm also in a capacity now where I can make a difference at this workplace. Yes, you're going to get a citation, but guess what? There's times, Jill, that I would literally show people how to put on their harness because they were donning them wrong.
00:26:59
Speaker
They will still get a citation. Same. I've done the same. It's like turn around. I'm going to put both of my hands on your shoulder blades now and we're going to look where that D ring is. And the emphasis there is again, the safety coach because
00:27:20
Speaker
The technical side we need, and again, I can get technical, 453 H2OI. I can get technical, but the technical in the field doesn't work. It's just like saying, okay, so do you know all your policy and procedures? No. Do you know the person? No. Should you know the person? Yes. And I think in our field of safety,
00:27:49
Speaker
sometimes there's a lot that with respect to, and I'm grateful for all the different organizations having emphasis on leadership and coaching and things of that nature, because at the end of the day, if we can't relate with the individual that's in front of us and help connect the dots to where they need to go to a desired outcome, because if they go back and do the same thing after a conversation, we didn't serve them.
00:28:18
Speaker
We didn't serve them. So go ahead. Yeah, we've got to find what's in it for them. And just listening to you and thinking about how I did it as a young compliance person. And my gosh, I think I had my OSHA badge when I was 20.
00:28:37
Speaker
who was either 23 or 24. And you walk onto a construction site, shoo, that's a pretty intimidating place to go. I didn't have a construction background like you did, plus I was young and female and alone in the middle of nowhere, somewhere near the North Dakota and Canada border. I'm like, holy cow.
00:29:07
Speaker
What I did back then and what I continue to do to this day is I tried to think often of my dad in the printing factory that he worked in. As a little kid, I would go into that printing factory after school to wait for his swing shift to get done. I paid attention to the work that people were doing on the presses where my dad was working on these presses. I knew all the injuries they had. I knew the kind of work that they did.
00:29:34
Speaker
and I every time I did an inspection and I saw something that was a technical hazard like you talked about because we learn that stuff and we know it I'm like okay now how would I explain this to my dad how would I explain this to the guys on his crew the people that
00:29:51
Speaker
that he worked with in a way that isn't gonna make them roll their eyes or say, hey, you snooty smarty went to college person, what does this have to do with me? And so I would explain like, okay, so there's this law and it says that this is this and this is this and it's gotta be this way. But here's what that means to you. Like this is what could happen to you. Has you ever seen anything like this?
00:30:17
Speaker
And people would be like, oh, yeah, that what, you know, and they tell you a story and be like, OK, so the way that we could fix it is like this. But do you have another idea? And people would be like, well, what about this? And then pretty soon you're in conversation and you're not the punk with the badge. Who knows at all. Right. Right. And we go ahead. I'm sorry. You know, no, I'm done. And it's powerful, too, because at the end of the day,
00:30:45
Speaker
I was a young safety professional that went out and made enemies, but again, remember that was my model. It's not an excuse, but that was the model then.
00:30:58
Speaker
And this is again, this is now safety professional to safety professional future safety professional. We need a combination of both technical and soft skills. As a matter of fact, Inc. magazine said soft skills is no longer the soft skills. It's the hard skills. And so it's very important for us. It's very important for us to be able
00:31:22
Speaker
To be able to connect with the individual at their level, that's not dumbing it down, that's serving your audience. And when you can connect with them in a way that makes sure that they understand in a way that's impactful for them and they can turn around and make the change, that's huge. There's a story that I remember as you were talking about your dad.
00:31:47
Speaker
That I remember while at the Mexican consulate because we did a lot of outreach There was a gentleman there and I knew he was doing work on heavy highway because he had a lot of Asphalt on his hands and on his pants and so I went over and again I'm at that time I was representing OSHA and I went to him I said I extended my hand I said how you doing? we started talking and asked him so can you extend your hands out and he says I
00:32:15
Speaker
I first asked him, does he have a family? He said, yes. He has a kid. He's a dad. He said, yes. And I asked him, look at your hands. What do you see? He kind of looked at me kind of pose and he said, trabajado or worker. Yeah. And then I asked him, look at your hands again and say, do you see a dad there? Look at your hands again. Do you see a husband there?
00:32:44
Speaker
And he looked at me and he said, I didn't see that. And I said, sir, you work eight, 10, 12 hours a day. That's part of you. That's not all of you. And, and again, I say that going back to your, the, the safety coach, the safety cop.
00:33:03
Speaker
that our job at the end of the day is to ensure that everybody that goes into our job leaves home the same condition when they went to work. And if we can build friends and win people, that's a win. That is. And so my challenge to everybody that's on the podcast, build your soft skills.
Leadership and Personal Development Journey
00:33:23
Speaker
If you're not, if you're looking at a way to accelerate your career, your growth, accelerate your team's performance, invest in yourself first. Jim Rohn said, don't wish it was better, wish you were better.
00:33:39
Speaker
Your team cannot become better unless you become better. And then you can serve them at a higher level. And so please get connected to a podcast, get connected to a webinar, get connected to a book. I was fortunate enough back in 2011.
00:34:01
Speaker
Because again, as a CS, all I do is presentations, do content building, but I wanted to enhance my public speaking. And for those, hopefully your audience knows John Maxwell. I got plugged into John Maxwell. I became a certified speaker and trainer coach. And then I began to see, you know what, there is a difference in connection.
00:34:32
Speaker
Because it doesn't matter if it's one person or a thousand people, we have to learn to connect. Connect with the person at their level so that we can relate, we create an experience that's memorable, but we also can connect the dots for them.
00:34:50
Speaker
And one of the things I've been doing the past, oh my gosh, seven years is just investing in myself and investing in my personal development. Now, professional development, I mean, yes, I'm growing my professional development, but my personal development, my public speaking, persuasion, influence, all those different things,
00:35:16
Speaker
because again let's just think about it like this if you and I or anybody in the call was to go out and do a an audit and let's just be easy at a construction site sure scaffold and and you see how i did that scaffold i i did i did i've transformed myself i mean right now in my mind i'm standing in front of uh scaffold it's a two by seven it's a tuben coupler five by seven two tiers
00:35:44
Speaker
And we're out there, all of us because of our level of hazard recognition will point out different things. And it's the same thing with soft skills. How is it that we're going to connect if we can't connect? How is it we're going to persuade if we can't persuade? How is it that we're going to build a team in high performance and we ourselves don't know what that looks like?
00:36:06
Speaker
We have to be full dimensional now because the pace of change is crazy fast. Competition is so fierce. And in order for us to be able to serve our teams at the highest level, guess what? Our teams are dynamic.
00:36:26
Speaker
And we have to be able to, well, is it influenced this year I'm gonna focus on? Is it team building? Is it persuasion? Is it high-performing? What is it? And then focus on that. And then guess what's gonna happen? Now when you're out in your field, and I do this now, I made a meeting, boom, they're not connecting. I'm sorry. Boom, I'm out in the field. He didn't coach, right?
00:36:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I think that's so important. You know, like you point, you're pointing out Mark, that thing, the pace of everything is moving so fast where we have this literal buffet of things that we could choose from. Things that, you know, when you're thinking about like, oh, your personal development or your influence, or what is it going to be? And there's like, oh my gosh, how would I even narrow it down? But really do, really do narrow it down for a period of time and get good at that thing.
00:37:18
Speaker
You know, if your thing this year is that, you know, like the thing that I picked a year ago, I think it was maybe a little bit longer, was I really want to work to support women. I really want to work to support women at work. I really want to make space and make sure that I'm creating space at the table and that I have influence over that. So that's my one thing.
00:37:48
Speaker
you know, instead of picking 10 or 20, I'm like, that's what I'm going to focus on. Right. And actually, you're spot on because in high performance, high performance, number one, according to the leading authority and high performance, Brenda Bichard is is clarity, seek clarity.
00:38:06
Speaker
Because if we're not clear, we can't move. And if we can't move, we don't create a win. If we don't create a win, what's going to happen, we're going to feel like we've never moved. But clarity at the end of the day is pivotal because if I'm not crystal clear, what's the next right move? And so those are some of the things that I've focused on for the last, again, seven, eight years, is leadership, high performance. Those are the two specific areas.
00:38:36
Speaker
That I've been really diving in and again, you can break down leadership influence persuasion, but specifically those two Because if you can't lead effectively you can't create high performance Yeah, and in our industry We say we need to move fast Well, guess what? Covey said fast is slow slow is fast and and what I mean by that is guess what I
00:39:05
Speaker
If we want our team to accelerate, if we want our team to move at the rate needed, well, guess what? What leadership skills do I need to possess? What high performance skills do I need to possess in order to be able to help and equip my team? Because again, I'll be honest, I've been
00:39:29
Speaker
Because my background, I've been on the backside of poor leadership in every aspect. When I was in Scaffold, I received poor leadership. When I was a supervisor and project manager and superintendent, I gave poor leadership. When I was in OSHA, I cited poor leadership. So I've been on every aspect of this leadership coin, if you will.
00:39:56
Speaker
And leadership is such a pivotal part of what we do as safety professionals. When we're out in the field, am I leading effectively? And that has been a huge transition for me, where in 2012, I launched my company, Multiply Leadership, which this past year, we're rebranding it to Multiply Others, which is all about
00:40:20
Speaker
Equipping more leaders so we can effectively create sustainable growth because if it look at just take the talent management gap, for example, and it's not adding more people to your team.
00:40:37
Speaker
That's not high performance. No, it's not. It's being able to identify the key influences in the group and then invest in those. So you can create now a multiplier effect. And that has been my passion, that has been my, it's gonna be my life's work to just live to multiply others so we can have
00:41:02
Speaker
We use this term in safety a lot, culture. I need to shift culture. You know what? Number one, if you don't know what you're talking about. It's empty. It's like the safety program that collects dust on the shelf that everybody thinks they need to have. Like, yeah, we're good. It's got the cellophane on it. We're good. We got it.
00:41:22
Speaker
Yeah. And so culture is such a dynamic term, but yet for me, I look at it. Yes, we want to shift culture, but let's look at leadership.
00:41:34
Speaker
Let's look at leadership. And what I mean by that is if I can grow, I can help my team grow, then I've identified another key influencer, I invest in them, they multiply, they find somebody else, guess what? I'm doing less work, actually more work multiplied.
00:41:56
Speaker
Yeah, right. I think, Mark, this is a really interesting and good point. We often in safety specifically talk about how safety starts at the top. Yes, in an ideal world, right? And that is what we want. However, many people who are listening to us
00:42:17
Speaker
now are thinking, right, well, I don't have that at the top. I don't do I have influence home. It's like you think you have to make that influence happen at the top yourself. And you're saying, no, let's look within first. Let's do some navel gazing and figure out how can I have influence? How can I be that leader?
00:42:40
Speaker
in that one area, in that one thing. And maybe to bring it even a little closer and more specific and tell me if this is what you're getting at. If you're a safety professional right now and you're listening to this and you're overwhelmed and you're drowning as so many of us are with so many things coming in every day,
00:43:02
Speaker
you're like what should I do and you're saying like let's focus and maybe it's picking that one specific let's say project but you're marrying it with how can I develop my leadership style or my influence over that project so we can get to the next one successfully and the next one successfully and Continue to build that circle of influence with your within yourself and you grow it out from there Is that what you're getting at?
Influencing Organizational Culture
00:43:27
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. One of the questions I asked, I have a keynote called game day for principles and practices for accelerating performance. And I asked the question. So number one, do you have you identify your key influencers? Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they do. And those who raise their hands and say, yes, I've identified who my key influencer is. The second question is, does that key influencer know he's a key influencer? Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
00:43:52
Speaker
Because I guarantee you, I don't know if you know Houston, Texas, but when JJ Watt gets on the field, guess what? The entire stadium roars. Why? Because the JJ Watt just showed up on the field. See, it's not enough to point them out. They have to be called out.
00:44:09
Speaker
See, part of this is being like in recon and looking and scanning and saying, oh my gosh, there's a Mark, there's a Jill, there's a Clint, there's a George. Hey, I see something in them. Let me invest in them. And this is what somebody said to me one time after a keynote. He says, Mark, what if there's nothing to return? I said, guess what? You just keep going. Yeah.
00:44:36
Speaker
It's not, what am I going to get? That's the wrong question. What are you willing to give? See, one is self. What will I get in return? That's the wrong question. See, all I know is that if the farmer just goes out there and keeps planting, he doesn't say, well, shoot, if I plant more, will I get less?
00:44:59
Speaker
He just knows I got a plan. So our job, find the one, start with one. I mean, that's what Mother Teresa said. Everybody wants to help, just start with the one beside you. Start with the one. One becomes two, two becomes six, six becomes eight.
00:45:19
Speaker
And guess what? Next thing you know, your influence has just multiplied. Because far too many of us, and again I'm speaking to my safety pupil, is that we try to do too much by ourselves. But if we identify those key influencers, what's going to happen is now
00:45:41
Speaker
those key influencers help identify other key influencers that identifies other key influencers. Now your reach and your capacity has exponentially grown because now it's a multiplier effect versus you just adding people to your team. And then what's going to happen is you just change culture.
00:46:04
Speaker
Yeah. I want to get back to your story of, you know, with OSHA, you became a certified speaker trainer coach. I kind of want to hear about what's happening with your career now because I think you're doing two things with your business and somewhere else. But when you're telling this story about influence, it made me think of
00:46:25
Speaker
You know that same coach I was telling you about who was asking about the horse? I was able to have some training with him in person with a group. And as you're telling a story, I'm thinking of it. He had one of those, I don't remember the name of the game, but it's that game where it has all those little geometric pieces and you push down the center of it, you set a timer and you have to put all the little pieces to fit in their little spots. Oh, I hated that game.
00:46:51
Speaker
Right? It might be called, I don't remember what it's called, but it's like the square has to go in the square and the triangle and the triangle and you have, you know, until the whole thing pops up and the pieces fly out everywhere. And so he's doing some coaching with a group of us. This was back in my OSHA days. Somehow we got lucky enough to have this really cool coach who is an industrial psychologist. And he has my one coworker, Todd, and he's like, Todd, you know, you got to do this task. You're going to do this job.
00:47:15
Speaker
And Todd can't get it done in the seconds that he sets on the timer and the pieces are popping up. And so pretty soon the coach is like, well, if you can get it done, I'm going to give you more money. And he's laying dollar bills down on the table. And Todd can't get it done.
00:47:30
Speaker
And he's like, well, maybe if, you know, well, you know, I really believe in you, Todd, you can really do this. I know you can do this. Timer goes, pieces fly out all over the place. He doesn't get it done. And then pretty soon he's like, well, everybody in the room, maybe if you could just cheer him on, maybe he's going to be able to go faster and get it done. You know, fails again. And of course, ultimately what we get to is we all help him put the pieces in and together we can get it done.
00:47:57
Speaker
you know, and we became, you know, influencers together and, you know, moving to the next thing. And that analogy is, heck, we probably did that exercise 15 years ago, but I think of it so often. It's like, you know, why am I struggling to do something on my own? Who are the people who can help me put these pieces together?
00:48:19
Speaker
Well, I talk about a little bit in my workshop that I do, and a lot of it has to do with if I'm good at this, I have to relinquish what's called control. Right. And again, I'm not stepping on any toes, but more can be done when we involve others. And so I love that story because
00:48:48
Speaker
you know, going back to where we're at right now with speaker training and I'm, you know, work full time family.
Living Your Legacy
00:48:55
Speaker
And, uh, also I'm on book three right now. Um, gosh, it's, it's just, it's an amazing ride, but I, so one, one individual the other day at work said, Mark, how do you do all this stuff? How do you, I said, what do you want? What's the price you're willing to pay for to live an amazing life?
00:49:19
Speaker
Again, the day you're born, the day you die, the time is in the middle. So at the end of the day, and this is for everybody in the call, live out your legacy now, because somebody's going to be reading it when we die.
00:49:33
Speaker
And do you want people to be talking more about the mashed potatoes or the life you invested? I love what Mary Maya Angelou said people won't remember what you said what you did But they will always remember how you made them feel yeah
00:49:50
Speaker
And so how we invest in others makes a difference. And one of the amazing things I've been able to do, I mean, I still to this day tickle myself and tickle myself, pinch myself. People pay me to speak. Again, I say that very humbly because of where I know where I came from.
00:50:15
Speaker
My grandmother came to this country, she did not read, she did not write, she signed her name with the ex. My mother only went to third grade and here's a guy that worked for OSHA and now they're, you know, got to do some amazing stuff and wrote a book and gets paid to speak.
00:50:30
Speaker
Yeah. For people who are listening and they're thinking, gosh, I like this idea of public speaking. It's good. Anyone who's a safety professional is already a public speaker in case you didn't know it. In case you didn't know it, you really are. Every time you get a person or two people gathered around you and you're teaching something on safety, you're now a public speaker.
00:50:56
Speaker
But if someone listening is thinking, you know, maybe I want to do that more or I want to get better internally in my own company, you said you had some training. But can you maybe, you know, talk about what what it's like being a public speaker? How did how did you know inside yourself that that's what you wanted to do and you wanted to develop?
00:51:21
Speaker
That's a great question. I gravitated towards the mentorship side and the John Maxwell team. So the John Maxwell team has, or the John Maxwell company has a certification program that's a speaker, trainer, coach, and then I gravitated in the mentorship program to the speaking track.
00:51:39
Speaker
Because again, that was my emphasis the reason why I got into it because I wanted to enhance my public speaking because I did a lot of presentations While I was with OSHA sure sure but the more I did it the more I liked it. Yeah But then we got into the whole Science of how to connect the spoken word the written word how to create a payoff
00:52:04
Speaker
all those different things and and I'll be honest one of the things and and you hear this a lot you know I'd rather die than do public speaking you hit it right in the head every every speaker uh excuse me every safety professional is a paid speaker you you are a paid public speaker I told the other guy the other day he said Mark I don't want to get up there I said you're a paid speaker man he said no I said yeah you are you're paying getting paid right now get up there and speak
00:52:33
Speaker
And so one of the things, if you want to enhance your public speaking, awesome. That is one of the ways, as a matter of fact, I did a presentation this past Tuesday for a management team and they said, Mark, I mean, you got energy, you got this and how do you, but see, they don't understand the work.
00:53:00
Speaker
Yeah, talk about that piece. So the work, there's a difference between the written word and the spoken word. And the written word is basically context in how you format your speech and how to craft your payoffs and really hone in on the tone, the inflection, your body language, all that.
00:53:24
Speaker
And then, again, the spoken word, obviously emphasizing on those tonality and things of that nature, how to connect with the audience. But what's interesting is the speaker track of the mentorship
00:53:43
Speaker
You know what the name was? It was called Get Good First. What a name, right? Right. That's what we all want. Get Good First. And so we had the amazing privilege and honor to have Les Brown. Again, for those who don't know him, Google him today.
00:54:06
Speaker
spoke at the Georgia Dome, I think it was like 80,000 peoples, like he was Earl Nightingale and Zig Ziglar and all these guys. But we had the amazing opportunity to have him speak to us, but he also honed in on this one particular part, is that whether it's one or a thousand, you work them, he said.
00:54:29
Speaker
Yeah. You work them as if it were a thousand. And this is what I challenged one person in the day saying, Mark, I know this stuff. I can work it from the, I can, what is it? I can shoot it from my hip. No, you, you're, you're doing a disservice to your team, to the audience, whoever that is. So for all of us on the call, if you want to become a public speaker, guess what you already are. Just get a good first, do the work.
00:54:57
Speaker
What is your message? So when I craft the message, it's basically the same methodology the entire time. What do I want them to learn, do, feel? And I may, you know, I'm thinking about crafting something around that, but I, you know, whether it's addy or all these other different things, they're great. But I just tell myself, what do I want them to learn?
00:55:25
Speaker
do and feel and between learn and feel is a story learn do story feel and guess what you practice start with five minutes first yeah we were told if you can't connect in five you can't do it in 30 and if you can't do it in 30 don't do it at all
00:55:48
Speaker
Right? And so when you're practicing, Mark, I mean, you and I are both public speakers. I'm curious when you're practicing, where do you do yours? I know that my cat has heard a lot of presentations. Yeah, I know that television sets that are on that have faces on them have heard a lot of presentations. Where do you how do you practice?
00:56:10
Speaker
In my office with the recording, I'll have a little Sony recorder and I'll record myself because again, I can have the written word in front of me and then you memorize the written word and then you can do the spoken word. But then what you're listening for is tone and flexion, what we call a pregnancy pause.
00:56:36
Speaker
At what point do I want my tone to inflect to ensure that they understood what I'm talking about? And what point do I want that point to come out? How many payoffs based on time do we need to get? And then the wrap up. How do we wrap all this up? Because at the end of the day, the message with no point is no point.
00:57:02
Speaker
We don't need to keep them going around in circles, we need to take them home.
00:57:09
Speaker
But when we take them home, take them home better. Take them home with the message. Take them home with some tools in their pocket. Take them home with an experience they can leave from. Take them home with a smile. And Les Brown has distract, dispute, and inspire.
00:57:33
Speaker
And I have an informed, challenging, and inspiring. It's in that learn, do, so informed, challenged, because there's always going to be a challenge, I guarantee you, when I speak. But there's always going to be an inspiration. And somebody will say, Mark, this is very technical. But guess what? You don't have to have five bullet points.
00:58:02
Speaker
Yeah, you're telling a story. You're telling a story. Yeah. But if you just stuck and spoke from the heart, one of the things, and this is for all public speakers or future public speakers, Les Brown would always tell us this, get out of your head and into your heart. Speak from your heart because the heart connects. The mind doesn't. The heart does.
00:58:24
Speaker
Yeah, Mark, you've dropped a number of good resources for people listening today who are interested in public speaking by way of resources that they can study or even take training from.
Public Speaking Tips
00:58:35
Speaker
And if people don't have that opportunity right now for themselves, I think something else that you can do is listen to the speakers you love.
00:58:46
Speaker
It doesn't have to do with safety. Listen to the speakers that you love and kind of pay attention to how they, like you're talking about Mark, there's a cadence and a flow and a methodology and you'll hear it in speakers and the way that they present over and over and over again.
00:59:06
Speaker
And each of them have their different style, you know, like I just recently had Charlie more craft on as a guest of the podcast. And if anyone's ever heard him speak, he's phenomenal. And I asked him, like, how did you develop that? And he's like, I just started talking. I mean, like he was he's a born storyteller.
00:59:27
Speaker
The in the most powerful piece is he connects to every individual's heart like you're saying right? That is his method. He connects to a heart every single time and in and you know, there are others that that present in more of a You know a process a methodical way
00:59:46
Speaker
yeah or dynamic motivational type yeah exactly exactly so you know if you don't have access to those resources study the storytellers that you love the presenters that you love and pick up those little cues and the things that work for you make it your own and you know you'll soon develop your own style i've had the opportunity have some coaching um like like you not as extensive but i've had some coaching from some people in the film industry
01:00:15
Speaker
many years ago who turned their film business into a public speaking coaching and they said you know it's all about story and storyboards there's a happy there's usually a not so happy beginning a happy ending and the stuff in the middle and you can tell that story in any order you want and then you know their challenge was to do that heart piece and so you know sitting in a group getting some coaching from these people and they're like okay tell a story and they're like
01:00:44
Speaker
You know, they stopped me at one point and they said, Jill, you have a really good story here and it's like an emotional story. But when you got to the emotional part, you kind of pulled back and the story falls flat. And they said, why'd you do that?
01:00:58
Speaker
I'm like, because I don't want to cry. You know, because I'm wrapped up into this and I don't want to cry. And they're like, well, what would happen if you did? And I'm like, I don't know. I cry. And they're like, and you do it again, you do it again, you do it again, and you're going to get to that point where you're going to be able to do it. And you might cry, but you're going to keep practicing. Yeah, it's powerful. It's powerful because people see your art that they see the authentic, you know,
01:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, right. You know what I mean? It's one thing to share your heart. It's another thing to give it to them. And so again, for those that are listening, if you're in safety, you've just started safety or been in safety for 20 plus years, please, one of our greatest services that we can do to our teams
01:01:50
Speaker
is not talk above them, speak with them. Speak with them in a way that connects to their heart, to their emotions. One gentleman told me the other day, well, Mark, that's touchy feeling. I said, wait a minute, put your hand on your pulse on your neck and let me just... Now I said, now hold your breath and he held his breath and he got to a place where he needed to exhale really loudly. And I said, that's interesting because touchy feeling is what keeps you alive.
01:02:19
Speaker
I mean because just because we won't go there doesn't mean people need to go there and so again how you your style may be different and one of the things and and I loved how you talked about the public speakers because again I
01:02:36
Speaker
I love watching Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, all these different speakers, JFK, Martin Luther King. I tell you, every person on this call, if you were just to Google that, I have a dream speech, I've listened to it so many times, but now listen it and then close your eyes.
01:02:58
Speaker
close your eyes and then put yourself there and you will have an experience like no other. That's what you're talking about Jill. There's a rhythm, there's a cadence, but he takes you there. And if we were to take people there, guess what could happen to machine guarding? What could happen to fall protection? What could happen to has calm? And any other thing that we're talking about, if we connected to people, what could happen?
01:03:27
Speaker
That's beautiful. That's beautiful, Mark. As we're rounding out our time together today, I'm curious. You have dropped so many wonderful, wonderful things, including one thing that you started with, gratitude comes when you recognize what's been poured in.
01:03:47
Speaker
I'm wondering, I wrote that down, I'm wondering. I'm glad you did, because I forgot it. I'll have to send it to you. I'm wondering if there are, you know, for the, for safety professionals who are listening, who are, you know, maybe wanting to take their career to the next level or just getting started. What are some, what are some nuggets that you'd like to leave folks with today? Well,
01:04:13
Speaker
So if I was to do everything all over again, I would understand that my contribution matters. My contribution matters. So that means I have to show up every day giving my best.
01:04:29
Speaker
Not expect best and others give my best to everybody I come across. Why? Because my contribution matters. And it's not a rating game or anything like that. Oh, you're giving a five. No, no, no. Mark's given a 10 today. Why? Because I'm accountable for Mark. I'm not accountable to you. I'm accountable for Mark. And because I'm accountable for Mark, guess what? I'm going to show up and give my best every day. As a matter of fact, Joe wouldn't.
01:04:54
Speaker
would challenge his players and his team members, he would say, make every day your masterpiece. So what if every day we showed up and gave people a masterpiece? We gave them a design, a blueprint for what they can become. And the second thing I would just say, identify your mark. If you go back to Don Oliver in my story, who is your mark? Who is a key influencer in your
01:05:24
Speaker
your area, your tribe, your organization. That is, you know what? They need your influence. They need your experience, your insights.
01:05:41
Speaker
everything you have, why don't you just say, you know what? I'm going to invest in them for six months. That's just a challenge for everybody. Identify somebody after the call and do it now. Write your name now, because after the call, you're going to forget. Write your name now and then invest in them and then say, I've been watching you and they're going to freak out. They're going to freak out and say, I've been watching you, but guess what? I want to invest in you. Can I invest in you for six months? And they're going to say, how much are you going to cost you? It's not going to cost you a dime because I want to serve you.
01:06:11
Speaker
What if everybody on this call just made it a tension to go out and find one person to pour into for six months for free? Beautiful.
Encouragement for Safety Professionals
01:06:23
Speaker
And then the last thing I would say, if you don't have a personal development plan, get one. A personal what plan? A personal development plan. A personal development plan, yes. Because if you're not growing, your team's not growing, if you can't grow, then oh my gosh. Right.
01:06:42
Speaker
Inertia. Inertia. Mark, this is powerful. Thank you so much. Oh, no. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, serve the audience, and give a little insight, a little background into the life of Mark, who's been here, had the privilege to be able to mess up along the way. Because again, if you're not messing up, you're not doing something right, by the way.
01:07:12
Speaker
Fail forward, learn to fail forward often. It's not a mess up, it's a fail forward and if you learn every single day is an opportunity, you learn to fail forward more often and take everything as a gratitude because I guess what tomorrow's not promised and your team needs you. Yeah, yeah. Well, Mark Hernandez, you are a maestro. No, gracias.
01:07:38
Speaker
And thank you all so much for joining in and listening today. And thank you for the work that you all do to make sure your workers, including your temporary workers, make it home safe every day. If you'd like to have a conversation about this episode or previous episodes, join the Accidental Safety Pro Community Group on Facebook. The community group is a place that's just for us safety professionals to share our insights, our reflections, and generally help one another out. It's a place just for us.
01:08:06
Speaker
You can listen to all the episodes at vividlearningsystems.com or subscribe in the podcast player of your choosing. You can also listen from our other Facebook page, the Accidental Safety Pro podcast, and you can find us on YouTube. Special thanks to Will Moss, our podcast producer. If you like the podcast, leave us a review. If you have a suggestion for a guest, including if it's yourself, please contact me at social at vividlearningsystems.com. Until next time, thanks for listening.