The Four Agreements of Process Safety Leadership

I recently read a book by Don Miguel Ruiz entitled "The Four Agreements." In the book the author reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transfer our lives to a new experience of freedom, happiness and love. I believe this same code of conduct can be applied to developing excellence in process safety leadership. The Toltecs were an ancient southern Mexico society that conserved the spiritual practices of the ancient ones.

The four agreements based on Toltec teachings are:

• Be impeccable with your word
• Don't take things personally
• Don't make assumptions
• Always do your best

I believe the agreements apply to the way we all live our lives and specifically can be applied to process safety leadership. The paper would explore how the four agreements apply to process safety leadership. Examples will be provided based on my 50 years of process safety experience including over 28 years in manufacturing and process safety jobs with the Dow Chemical Company, 5 years as a lead investigator with the U. S Chemical Safety Board, 10 years as a CCPS consultant, and many years of process safety consulting around the world. The examples will illustrate how excellence in process safety leadership can be developed and maintained today.