Embracing Differences

In this episode, Nippin and Desai explore the complex interplay of justice, culture, power dynamics, and expertise in organizational safety and investigations. They delve into how language, roles, and unconscious biases influence perceptions of fairness and accountability.

This podcast illustrates why the industry struggles with understanding safety culture and what we can do to improve our understanding.  The podcast also provides selective readings to broaden your views on safety culture including a video on how to diagnose culture. A free download book to improve your understanding about culture with selective readings: https://novellus.solutions/product/51-stori...

This episode explores the transformative power of listening, humility, and how to think about time in leadership. Featuring personal stories from Rob, Craig, and Jenny, it highlights how profound simplicity and genuine connection can reshape organizational culture and leadership practices.

In this video we get down to understanding why there is no leading without following. We discuss: The concept of 'Following Leading' and its significance The hyphen as a symbol of connection and mutuality The importance of language and shared understanding in leadership The role of self-awareness and internal connection in relational leadership Practical examples of reciprocal relationship...

Discover how technology and our busy lives have diminished the art of conversation. Learn why genuine connection matters in today’s world. In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, the simple act of conversation seems to be fading away. Have we truly lost the art of dialogue, or are we just missing the connection behind it? In this post, we’ll explore the impact of technology on our conversa...

What are the two main problems with how leadership is taught and practiced today?1. Leadership is all about Masculinity and to be precise - a male-centric construct. It makes little space for Feminist Ethics. We think it matters to challenge this ideology.2. All dominant models and courses in Leadership are based on the Hero Myth. When we achieve success, it must be because we have good leaders. I...

“What I'm interested in is how do I bring the voiceless to the table. How do I bring the invisible into the visible landscape and have those various views and opinions heard, recognised, and embraced? That's what I'm about.” Do not listen to this podcast if you are in the business of saving lives. You will be left distressed. But if you care about people and humanising work, there are...

Mary Conquest, the famous host of the podcast, Safety Labs, has interviewed over a hundred people (including myself). I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to engage with her and find out what she has learned through this journey. In this podcast, Mary reflects on her interviewing skills and what it makes to conduct good interviews. I’ very fortunate to be interviewing the interviewer in t...

Enclosed space risks have been haunting many high-risk industries for decades. The maritime industry has not seen much change with deaths and injuries in enclosed spaces despite our best efforts to control the risks. What are we focusing on and what are we missing? An open conversation with two persons - both ex-seafarers and now working as insurers for a reputable insurance company. We get person...

One of the least understood responses in an investigation is when we hear someone say ‘I don’t know’. It is considered a sign of incompetence and ignorance. It is a source of shame and stigma for those being investigated.   Online session: https://novellus.solutions/mec-events/sporonline2026/ Accident Investigation workshop  https://novellus.solutions/mec-events/accident-investigation-program/ Rea...

After an accident, we create a narrative to give meaning to misfortune. these narratives are packed in the discourse of science and they claim to prevent future recurrences (formal investigation reports) and learn from accidents? But to what extent are these narratives true? can they really prevent anything? do they help us to learn from accidents? here's my talk at the Library of Accidents in...

This podcast is an open-ended conversation with Dr (Captain) Bikram S. Bhatia about how he became interested in researching seafarers hours of rest and work. From family expectations to workplace realities, it is Bikram's search for meaning and purpose. It is a lesson in understanding that our questions and our curiosity cannot be separated from our research. The formal and the informal; the s...

This podcast is about understanding the central role of language in understanding and influencing culture change. Both Dr Nippin Anand and James Pomeroy are uniquely positioned in this space and they offer some practical insights rooted in practice through their background, experiences, and research.

For a great part of my working life, I have been experiencing and researching enclosed space deaths and injuries. Here’s a humble attempt to bring some of these risks together in the most concise and accessible manner. This podcast is about framing the problem with our current approaches and offering some questions to think about how to address the enclosed space risks. 

Bureaucracy generated by excessive audits and inspections has reached a stage that it leads to high-consequence accidents at sea. Ships go aground and collide at sea not despite but BECAUSE of audits. Professor Michael Power at the London School of Economics calls it ‘Audit Explosion’ - the rising trend towards audits In this podcast, Kristine Storkensen and Nippin Anand discuss the 'Audit Exp...

In this podcast, Nippin tells the story of a seafarer who doesn’t want to go home after being on the ship for 6 months. Nippin asks him why? It’s such an exciting time for a seafarer to go home. Listen what this seafarer has to say. It is a beautiful example of why we should learn to shut up and listen. 

A short story about why the notion of just culture is deeply problematic, flawed and without a basis for either culture or justice. 

Less than a month ago, the long-awaited 𝗪𝗮𝗸𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 was released by the Court of Investigation, Mauritius. The report cites the following as the primary causes of the accident: 1) crew negligence to sail close to the island to obtain the phone signal, 2) consumption of alcohol by the captain before groundingand, 3) the chief officer not using the appropriate large scale chart when nav...

In this conversation, Nippin and Frank delve into the significance of safety culture within organizations, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to risk management. They discuss the importance of communication, listening, and understanding language in fostering a positive culture. The conversation highlights the impact of miscommunication and the necessity of reflection in improving organiz...

Where do you look for the meaning of words? Dictionaries, I guess? Word meanings are not to be found in dictionaries; words meanings are found in metaphors. All language is metaphorical, and we don’t just speak metaphorically, we live by our metaphors.    In this podcast, David and Nippin compare a handful of metaphors in Banking and Maritime. Through this comparison they realise that words don’t...

In this podcast, I discuss the impact of binary and absolute slogans on perception and behaviour, by drawing upon "Context is everything" as an example. These slogans undermine critical thinking and promote an absolute view where individuals are rendered powerless. I share a case where a workshop participant criticised my methods for not addressing structural issues, highlighting the industry's fo...

In this podcast, I share some thoughts about the limitations of root cause analysis as a method (or a tool) for investigations and audits based on a social experiment. Linear, deductive reasoning has many limitations because it seeks simplistic answers to ethical and political problems that are inherently messy, non-linear and largely operate in the unconscious space. You can read my blogs and boo...

a conversation with Bryce Boehmer where we discuss how to understand culture. We are setting up a workshop in Calgary on 20-21st October and this podcast provides an outline for the workshop program. Culture cannot be understood through definitions and propositions; culture is lived and experienced through observations and conversations. In this podcast, Nippin explains to Bryce how to make the fa...

Often people involved in accidents will tell us that the process of accident investigation was far more stressful and even traumatic than the experience of the accident. Our models and methods of investigation end up causing more harm than good to people. In this video, we will learn how to reconcile trauma, healing and learning in an accident investigation not only from the point of view of those...

Do you believe in Zero Harm? Is that your goal for avoiding injuries and ensuring safety of your people? Is that an expectation imposed upon your organisation? Here is a true story and an attempt to challenge the Zero Harm ideology prevalent in almost all safety critical industries.  Earlier this year, I interviewed a seafarer whose brother went missing at sea. We don’t know under what circumstanc...