You Must Have A Safety Cushion to Prevent Pain

As the Dread Pirate Roberts said, “Life is pain… Anyone who says differently is selling something.”

That being the case, I had a good dose of life on the weekend!

We were at the shed and while my gorgeous wife and our friend went into town, I thought I would pop up the ladder and do a couple of things that needed to be done.

So often we have talked about how important ladder safety is, particularly as the shed has a concrete floor. In fact, I was joking with my personal trainer about it a week or so ago as it is one of the main reasons men over 55 are admitted to hospital!

Anyway, I set the ladder. The kitchen bench was in the road so I positioned the ladder into what I thought was a safe place. As I was about two and a half metres in the air, it turns out that position was NOT safe.  The polished concrete did not give enough resistance to the feet of the ladder and I am a heavy bloke so, at the end of the day, the laws of physics stayed true and gravity worked!

On the way down I grabbed at the bulkhead over the kitchen (which I successfully pulled down), grazed my shin, landed on my feet with my forearms on the bench all while forcing the knife block into the microwave and bending two of the knife handles in the process. The ladder itself can now go around corners so it will be recommissioned as a climbing frame for beans, roses or some such plant.

With loads of broken glass from the microwave, my first check was had I cut myself. The answer was NO!  Phew!! Then it was time to sit, calm down and assess the situation.

Turns out all I got was a bruised ego, shin, hand and forearms and one hell of a fright. Yay for me!

So we know have a new protocol for climbing ladders.

• It is not to be done if only I am there
• Ladder must be stable with safety person holding it
• Must have better ladder
• Where possible, have a huge bed of cushions underneath
• If in doubt, don’t

So Step one, get a better ladder. This is what I will use from now on (ignore the wheels, they are coming off!) Super stable and with working platform!!

What about you? You probably don’t climb ladders. Maybe the risks you are facing are not physical. Maybe it is financial, project based, competitive risks or something completely different.

What are your protocols for managing risks? How can you make sure you have a massive bed of cushions to minimise your negative impact and/or pain?

PS The Latest Episode of the Get More Success Show is all about dealing with Uncertainty and how to thrive in it. Evan Leybourn is the head of Business Agility Institute. Check out our conversation here.