Waste Management’s CEO Isn’t Just Talking Safety. He’s Signaling Culture
Waste Management’s CEO Isn’t Just Talking Safety. He’s Signaling Culture.
Safety metrics rarely make headlines.
But when a CEO talks about safety, they’re usually signaling something deeper: operational integrity.
When frontline workers don’t feel safe, that’s a leadership problem.
It’s a clue about what the organization truly prioritizes when no one is watching.
In plain terms, it answers questions like:
➤ Are we optimizing for speed, or for doing it right?
➤ Do we reward volume at any cost, or disciplined execution?
That’s also why safety and financial performance often move together over time.
Not because safety “follows” the numbers, but because the same operating discipline that prevents injuries also prevents defects, downtime, rework, and surprises.
What stood out to me in this piece wasn’t a policy.
It was the mindset:
Fix process → improve safety → reinforce culture → improve performance.
Leadership at scale isn’t always about bold ideas.
It’s also about removing small frictions before they compound into big failures.
Which operational signals tell you the most about a leadership team?
🔗Source: CEO of $90 Billion Waste Management Hauled Trash and Went to 1 a.m. Safety Briefings
