EP 1268: When “Follow the Procedure” Stops Making Sense

Everyone says it.“We just want people to follow the procedure.”But what happens when the procedure doesn’t match the work?In this episode of the Rated R Safety Show, we break down why organizations often reward deviation until something goes wrong—then suddenly demand perfect compliance. We explore how procedures quietly shift from guidance to evidence, why work-as-imagined rarely survives contact with reality, and how blaming individuals protects systems that were never designed to work in the first place.This isn’t about breaking rules.It’s about why following them sometimes stops making sense—and what that reveals about leadership, design, and real safety.If your safety program only works when humans behave perfectly…it might be fragile by design.