Normalization of Deviance

Repeated close calls slowly redefine 'normal' until disaster feels surprising but was predictable.

Key Concept

• The third unchallenged shortcut is the warning - not the accident that finally forces a meeting.
• Level 1: The third time someone skips a rule without anyone speaking up is the warning - like ignoring three smoke smells until the house is on fire.
• Level 2: Normalization of deviance means unchallenged shortcuts become normal before the accident forces a meeting.
• Level 3: The third unchallenged shortcut is the signal - by the fourth or fifth, nobody even decides, it is just how things are done here.
• Level 4: Log the near miss the first time - Heed Every Near-Miss before the shortcut stops feeling like a choice.
• Level 5: Blameless After-Action Review when nobody died cannot end the talk - Failure as Feedback dies when close calls stop getting recorded.
• Heed Every Near-Miss logs each close call; Blameless After-Action Review when “nobody died” cannot end the talk.
• By the fourth or fifth time, the shortcut is not even a decision anymore - it is just how things are done here.

Examples

• Third time someone ran the red light in the parking lot and nobody wrote it up - until the fender bender.
• Third time we let the ladder stay on the stairs and nobody moved it - until someone tripped carrying laundry.

Note Relationships