Theo Venter is a motivational safety speaker, workplace safety advocate and co-author of Convenience Kills and Get Real – two books that challenge traditional thinking about why workplace accidents happen and what it takes to create safer, more accountable workplace cultures.
Drawing on Theo’s lived experience and co-authored with Ken Roberts, the books explore many of the same ideas Theo brings to audiences around workplace safety, behaviour, personal responsibility and cultural transformation.
After surviving a catastrophic workplace accident involving 22,000 volts of electricity, Theo began a much deeper exploration into the behaviours, choices and circumstances that contribute to workplace incidents. Together with co-author Ken Roberts, that exploration became two books: Get Real and Convenience Kills.
Rather than simply telling people to “be safer”, these books challenge readers to think differently about why people take shortcuts, how workplace behaviours develop and why lasting safety transformation requires more than policies, procedures and another box to tick.
Why do workplace accidents continue to happen when organisations already have safety systems, procedures and training designed to prevent them?
Convenience Kills explores the human side of workplace accidents and the everyday decisions that can place people at risk.
The book grew from Theo’s own experience and one of the questions he is most often asked after sharing his story:
“What compelled you to take your hands from your gloves?”
Rather than accepting an accident as simply the result of someone failing to follow procedure, Theo and Ken explore the behaviours and thinking behind those decisions.
A short, provocative read for workers, managers and safety leaders who are ready to think – and talk – differently about workplace safety.
Paperback · 144 pages
There can be a significant difference between how work is supposed to happen and how it actually happens.
Get Real challenges organisations to examine that gap.
Drawing on Theo’s workplace accident, his recovery and the insights that followed, the book explores why incidents can continue to occur despite established procedures, training and safety systems.
It encourages workers and leaders to have more meaningful conversations about behaviour, shortcuts, decision-making and personal responsibility – before an accident forces the conversation upon them.
For safety leaders, managers and organisations wanting to strengthen workplace safety culture, Get Real offers a different perspective on what it really means to send people home safely.
Paperback · 304 pages
The books introduce the thinking. Theo brings it to life.
As a motivational safety speaker, Theo shares the extraordinary story of surviving a 22,000-volt workplace electrical accident and the lessons that followed. Theo speaks at safety conferences, corporate events, leadership programs, safety days and workplaces across Australia and internationally.