Phil La Duke named in ISHN magazine’s Power 101

Oct. 8, 2011 - PRLog -- (Monroe, MI) Rockford Greene International’s Phil La Duke was named to ISHN magazine’s list, Power 101, ISHN’s  a list of professionals “who move and shake the safety world”.  The international publication that boasts a print circulation of over 79,000 subscribers describes La Duke as a “blogger who wants to knock safety upside the head to (force it to) quit feeling like a corporate orphan. Takes on all comers.”

“Obviously I am thrilled” says La Duke.  “for anyone to put me on the same list as people like (respected safety thought leader) Jim Leeman and (LinkedIn Group, EHSQ Elite founder ) Pieter-Jan Blotts is an achievement unto itself, but to be so recognized by an august publication like ISHN is a bit overwhelming.”

The list is generated by the editors of ISHN who looked for individuals who shared two leadership characteristics (INSERT CRITERIA)

The list reads like a who’s who of safety, with some notable exceptions (ADD QUOTE ABOUT WHY THERE ARE NO CONGRESSMEN) and few H&S executives s made the list.

La Duke who, last month was named a featured blogger for EHSQ Elite, admits that his success as a blogger is serendipitous, “I never aspired to be a ‘blogger’, in fact, I was kind of pressured into blogging by a former employer” recalls La Duke “As a former newspaper reporter and columnist (La Duke was on staff of a suburban Detroit weekly) I admit I was more than a little snobbish about bloggers. The few blogs I had encountered were rambling pieces of tripe written by deranged fans and cat fanciers; I just didn’t think they were anything to be taken seriously.  Maybe that’s why my writing style became so acerbic.” While others may extol the blog as a replacement for print journalism, La Duke is quick to disagree “I think the role of the peer reviewed work is important, people who have no business writing can crank out irresponsible dribble, but a peer reviewed work is held to a higher standard.”

La Duke, who pens a monthly safety column Fabricating and Metalworking where he is a contributing editor, has also written for Facility Safety Management, ISHN, HR Pulse, and other magazines is the author of two respected and popular blogs.  His personal blog, www.philladuke.wordpress.com is devoted to worker safety issues and the Rockford Greene International blog www.rockfordgreeneinternational.wordpress.com focuses on business optimization issues across the SQDCM of industry.  “I use my blogs to get raw ideas down in a sort of visceral and stream of consciousness form,  from there, I refine the ideas and shape them into articles” says La Duke.  “It’s a lot of work, I’m fully deployed on consulting projects, speaking, and other Rockford Greene business and I spend a good share of my free time writing.  I generate about 10,000–40,000 words a month: two weekly blogs, and at least one peer reviewed document.”

The popularity of La Duke’s work is rapidly growing and La Duke estimates that the combined audience of print and digital readership exceeds 200,000 monthly.  La Duke is slated to speak at the National Safety Council’s upcoming annual conference and expo in Philadelphia.

“It’s heartening to know that my work is being well received” says La Duke “I don’t court controversy but I certainly dive in head first from time to time.  I won’t apologize for my direct approach. I figure that if even one person questions the status quo of safety or climbs down from the ivory tower to address real world issues facing worker safety I’ve accomplished something.  There’s a lot of stupidity out there and it’s my goal to expose it whenever I can.”

About Phil La Duke:
Phil La Duke is an internationally recognized writer, blogger, and speaker whose work is seen by over 200,000 readers internationally monthly.  La Duke is a highly sought and often controversial speaker on culture change, training, and performance improvement topics, particularly worker health and safety and Lean Manufacturing. La Duke is an editorial advisor for Facility Safety Management magazine, a regular contributor to ISHN magazine, and a contributing editor and safety columnist for Fabricating and Metalworking magazine. La Duke is the author of two weekly worker safety blogs, http://philladuke.wordpress.com  and www.Rockfordgreeneinternational.wordpress.com.  La Duke is also co-founder of Rockford Greene International.

La Duke has been cited as an expert in numerous article and academic works, appeared as a guest on talk radio programs, and has spoken at the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' Lean and Green Symposium, theSociety for Applied Learning Technologies Washington Interactive Conference, the International Symposium on Mining Safety, and made numerous appearances at the National Safety Council, La Duke has provided training in seven countries..

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Rockford Greene International provides business optimization services for all of the key business elements: Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Morale, and Environment.