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Guest Post: How Shortcuts Lead to the Long Way Out

Gary and Jeanne Norland
Gary Norland and wife Jeanne
By Gary Norland. Gary is a speaker at Arizona Chapter National Safety Council’s 2026 Southwest Safety Conference. His presentation, Life after 12,500 Volts
, shows how one unsafe moment affects families, coworkers, and entire communities.

Many people look for shortcuts. But when safety is not a priority, taking a shortcut can alter lives and even lead to death. In 1992, I experienced the effects of taking an on-the-job shortcut that cost me every sense of regularity.

On a normal Friday afternoon, I was tasked to investigate why a 200-amp, 12,500-volt power line was shorting out. I was raised by bucket truck to run tests on the de-energized power line, and as I leaned out of the bucket to stretch my back, I suffered an electrical shock that changed the course of my life.

Awareness and Accountability

Whether you’re on or off the job site, safety should always be the No. 1 priority.

Every situation has an aspect of safety, whether it’s running tests on a power line or walking in the grocery store parking lot. Safety is a mindset, and every day you must consciously decide to be within that mindset. I use the chair — or four C’s method — to draw attention to how to commit to the safety mindset. You cannot be fully aware of your safety if you aren’t fully carrying out each aspect.

Four C’s

  • Care: The necessity of caring for your own and others’ safety. Without a concern for safety, you and everyone around you will be in danger. Similar to requiring everyone in your car to wear a seat belt.
  • Commit: The requirement of putting safety above all other needs. It does not matter if it may be quicker to do things another way, you should always do things the right way. It may be more simple to rotate tires without a torque wrench, but it doesn’t mean it’s safe.
  • Courage: The obligation to speak out when something is not right. Even if no one around you is speaking out, it’s your responsibility to say something to the right people. If you see a spill in a grocery store aisle, you tell a worker.
  • Communicate: The demand to always know what you and others around you are doing. You must be aware and make others aware of any plans or changes to plans that occur. When you are walking around a kitchen with a hot pan, you let the people around you know you have a hot pan.

By embracing the four C’s, you’re also taking the first step toward taking accountability for your own safety. I emphasize that while safety involves everyone, you’re the only one who can be responsible for your own safety. Given that safety is a mindset, when you prioritize other things, the only accountable person is yourself.

The Ripple Effect

Once the decision has been made to hold yourself accountable, in realizing that safety is a factor in every situation, you and everybody around you are much safer. Most people don’t think of the aftermath while taking a shortcut, but it will affect every person in your life if you fall short of safety. Not only is the chance of affecting your family and friends always the first thought of possibility, but the people you work with everyday experience the aftermath firsthand. If safety is not your top priority, the first people to feel the effects will be the coworkers who support you every workday. One of the men working with me on the day of my accident somberly walked away when approached about the event years later. When you decide to prioritize safety, you show to everyone around you that you not only care for your own well being, but for theirs too.

Safety is not just an idea implemented in dangerous situations, but a personal responsibility to be carried out in every moment of everyday life in order to show up for the people around you. Prioritizing safety prevents trauma to yourself and to every single person within your life. Though I may have been a victim of falling out of the mindset of safety, the lesson I learned has carried me through every aspect of my life. After facing the consequences of my shortcut, I’m now able to live a somewhat normal life that involves playing golf, riding motorcycles, and camping with my family. Even in those moments, the personal responsibility of safety will always be on the back of my mind, so that I ensure no person around me ever has to go through what I did.

Gary Norland is a nationally recognized safety speaker whose life was forever changed by a preventable workplace accident. In 1992, Gary was electrocuted by a 12,500-volt power line, suffering severe electrical burns over 37% of his body and enduring more than 60 surgeries during years of recovery. Once a hardworking father and coach, Gary faced profound physical, emotional, and family challenges following the incident. Today, Gary and his wife, Jeanne, travel across the country sharing their powerful story to help others understand the true cost of unsafe decisions. Together, they deliver a compelling, real-life message about accountability, awareness, and the ripple effects of workplace injuries—reminding audiences that safety is not just a policy, but a personal responsibility.

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