Your Response Matters … A Lot

How you respond to other people and events matters. It matters a lot. Your responses – both as a leader and a member of the TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) – impact every part of your life, including culture, relationships and safety.

Let’s start with this: “Responding” is a task. To perform the task well, we need tools that give us time to think, help us focus our attention and assist us in controlling our work, emotions, risk tolerance and decision-making. Now, keeping in mind that good tools help us work better and great tools help us think better, we’re going to discuss a great tool that will help optimize our response to any event.

When discussing principle one (“Take 100% responsibility for your life”) in his book “The Success Principles,” Jack Canfield offers up one of the most powerful tools I have ever learned to use: Event + Response = Outcome, or E + R = O. Essentially, this equation tells us that because we have little to no control over daily events (e.g., circumstances, people, timing), we must focus on our ideal outcomes and then influence those outcomes through our responses. Principle one concludes with a very powerful message: Pay attention … your results don’t lie.

To illustrate how the E + R = O tool works, think about driving near another vehicle whose driver has road rage. That driver’s actions are beyond your control, but your response to the situation is not. Pause to define your outcome (e.g., I want to arrive at my destination safely and on time) and you’ll likely choose not to engage with the other driver. That’s an excellent use of the tool.

What would happen during the same event if you were to respond differently? Maybe you don’t pause and have an emotional response, or perhaps you define your outcome as wanting to engage with the driver to get back at them. Either response would escalate the event and potentially result in a much different outcome, such as violence or a vehicle accident.

E + R = O or A B C D E?
In Chapter 1 of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” author Stephen R. Covey provides insight about being proactive. He writes about our Circle of Influence (how you respond) and our Circle of Concern (events happening to and around you). We can add a Circle of Control, which encompasses our responses, emotions and decisions. The test is simple. Events occur within your Circle of Concern. You either E + R = O or you A B C D E (accuse, blame, complain, defend and deny, and make excuses). If you A B C D E, you are spending too much time focused on events in your Circle of Concern. If you pause, define your outcome and respond appropriately, you are using the E + R = O tool well.

Let’s walk through how the tool works during a common event that can have a huge impact on safety, culture and relationships: I make an error. Do I respond by hiding it? Do I voluntarily report the error? If I report it, how will my leaders and organization respond? Will I be punished or ignored, or will my error be shared so we can apply lessons learned? As Doug Hill – a retired lineworker, safety culture champion and trainer for the Incident Prevention Institute – often says, “You can name and blame, or you can learn and improve. You can’t do both.”

The same principle applies to success. How you respond to success matters a lot. Think about someone exercising stop-work authority. How you respond to that also matters a lot, as do your responses to unsafe acts and conditions. And here’s one more thing that matters a lot: your responses to multiple events that happen each day, such as participating in a job briefing, attending a training session or teaching a class. Look for opportunities to respond well. If you don’t like the TEAM performance you’re seeing, spend more time evaluating your responses and less time focusing on events.

Conclusion
The primary value of the E + R = O tool is that using it gives you time to think. Pausing between the event and your response allows you to focus your attention. Make a habit of practicing this tool during simple events in low-risk environments so you can use it well when you really need it. The next time you encounter a challenging person or situation, ask yourself, “What is my desired outcome?” Once you have defined that with extreme clarity, the approach to handling the person or situation should become obvious, improving the likelihood that you will achieve your desired outcome.

E + R = O helps us with life skills. Employing this tool can enhance culture, safety, relationships, emotional intelligence and decision-making. To maximize its value, however, you must first be trained to use it properly.

About the Author: David McPeak, CUSP, CIT, CHST, CSP, CSSM, is the director of professional development for Utility Business Media’s Incident Prevention Institute (https://ip-institute.com) and the author of “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle” and “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle.” He has extensive experience and expertise in leadership, human performance, safety and operations. McPeak is passionate about personal and professional development and believes that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are key to success. He also is an advanced certified practitioner in DISC, emotional intelligence, the Hartman Value Profile, learning styles and motivators.

About Frontline Fundamentals: Frontline Fundamentals topics are derived from the Incident Prevention Institute’s popular Frontline training program (https://frontlineutilityleader.com). Frontline covers critical knowledge, skills and abilities for utility leaders and aligns with the Certified Utility Safety Professional exam blueprint. 

Webinar: Your Response Matters
September 3, 2025, at 11 a.m. Eastern
Visit https://ip-institute.com/frontline-webinars/ for more information.