FOMU is not a typo. It stands for Fear Of Messing Up.
FOMU is costing industrial companies more than any bad decision ever did. And it runs through every level of an industrial operation.
FOMU is built on "What-ifs." What if fixing it doesn't work? What if it costs money and nothing changes? What if it makes things worse? And, eek: What if they blame me?
So you don't commit. You make no decision. And frontline supervisors watch all of this and learn the lesson fast: the safe move is no move.
So, then, safety programs don't stick. Retention initiatives don't hold. Quality problems keep coming back. Not because the programs were wrong. Because the supervisors delivering them are waiting to be told it's safe to act.
That's the FOMU cascade. And every metric you track pays for it.
This week's video shows you what FOMU looks like in your own operation, and what happens the moment someone finally decides they want something better.
Watch FOMU: The Fear That's Costing Industry More Than the Problem
Start here after: kevburns.com/supervisors
