Live from The iP Utility Safety Conference, Glendale, AZ – How Upstream Thinking Changes Safety

Recorded live from the IP Utility Safety Conference in Glendale, Arizona , this free-flowing conversation features Kate Wade of IP magazine , Billy Martin of Think Tank Project, LLC , and Brant Jeffries of Bierer Meters. The group discusses how conferences and networking change our perspectives , using analogies like Billy’s “fire corn” and Heraclitus’s river. They dive deep into the dangers of “reactiveness” , citing examples from Arizona’s freeway development to local city council decisions. The conversation emphasizes the need to move to “upstream thinking” and use the “space between stimulus and response” to build trust and make more rational, safer decisions.

Key Takeaways

Learning requires discomfort. True growth at conferences comes not from seeking confirmation , but from being stretched and a “little bit uncomfortable”.

Shift your perspective. The group uses the analogy, “You’re not stuck in traffic; you are the traffic” , to illustrate how we are the ones who apply negative emotion (the “suck”) to a situation , which blocks our ability to learn from it.

Beware the “reactive” trap. Humans are programmed to be reactive. The speakers note that we often react to problems—like traffic or accidents—long after they began , rather than using “upstream thinking” to find the root decisions that caused them.

Use the space between stimulus and response. Citing Viktor Frankl , the group stresses the importance of taking time before responding. This space allows our “thinking selves” to override an immediate reaction , de-escalate conflict , and choose a rational response.

Modern media may be programming us for reactivity. The group discusses how modern movies and video games, with their “flash, flash, flash” editing , are rewiring our brains for shorter attention spans and making us more reactive.

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