This book is a set of new skills written for the managers that drive safety in their workplace. This is Human Performance theory made simple. If you are starting a new program, revamping an old program, or simply interested in understanding more about safety performance, this guide will be extremely helpful.
There's a lot out there written about the "new view" of human performance and safety, but this is the only book I've encountered that discusses how to introduce this kind of thinking into your organization. Conklin is an engaging writer, and this book has a lot of practical advice. It also does a good job at setting realistic expectations for a would-be organization transformer. Highly recommended.
If you've not read any of the material that backs this book (i.e. Dekker's "Field Guide to Understanding Human Error"; Hollnagel's "The ETTO Principle"; many others) this is a good place to dip your toes into Human Factors and organizational safety concepts. If you have read that material, Conklin provides very accessible ideas and recommendations on how to introduce these concepts into your company, along with setting reasonable expectations on how these concepts will gain traction.
A must for any safety professional who deserves to be called as such. This is a foundation book and cannot be read without further digging into other foundation ones.