From the Training:
Assess & Progress: Spotting & Stopping the School Shooter

When I was in England on my honeymoon, I tried what the British call a shandy.
Beer mixed with lemonade.

I have never really cared for beer, but with the sweetness added, it was actually delicious.

Fast forward about thirty years. 

I was at the Outer Banks on a family beach trip and stopped at a local store.
I saw beer mixed with grapefruit juice.
I love grapefruit juice so I thought I’d give it a try. 

I grabbed a six-pack and headed to the register. 

The woman working there, who was at least my age at the time, asked for my ID. 

I had never intended to buy beer that day so I hadn’t brought my wallet.
I was just going to use Apple Pay on my phone. 

I laughed a little and said, “I think I’m a pretty good bit North of twenty-one.” 

She said, “I’m sorry but it’s our policy.” 

I told her it was a sound policy, especially if someone looked close to twenty-one, “but I’m basically twenty-one times two plus ten years.” 

Without missing a beat she said, “I know. I can see that. But we can’t sell alcohol without ID.” 

Here’s the point. 

No human being in the history of the world was ever made for a policy or procedure. Policies and procedures are made for human beings. 

Don’t get me wrong. 

I’m a huge believer in good policies and procedures because they reduce confusion and complexity, and both confusion and complexity are dangerous to a safe and loving culture. 

The problem is that sometimes we cling to policies long after common sense is tapping us on the shoulder and saying, “Look at his gray hair and wrinkles.” 

Once, I listened to an engineer explain that one of the worst things you can do is ask engineers to “make something better.” 

He said engineers naturally want to improve what already exists. 

They tweak it, adjust it, and refine it. But he argued the first question should be: “Should this even exist anymore?” 

Sometimes the best thing you can do is not improve a thing but get rid of it. 

Policies and procedures can become the same way.

A policy may have been necessary five years ago. It may even have worked very well. But over time, situations change, environments change, and people change. 

The goal should never be protecting the policy but protecting people from bad or unreasonable policies.

That’s why there must always be room for discernment, intuition, and judgment inside a policy. 

At the Richneck Elementary School shooting, there was a policy that only certain authorized personnel could search a student. Because of it, staff members were never allowed to search a student who reportedly had a weapon. 

He ended up shooting his teacher in the chest. 

I understand why that policy likely existed. Just like I understand the alcohol ID policy. But policies should strengthen human judgment, not disable it. 

A good procedure creates clarity while a bad one creates paralysis. 

So review your policies carefully. Not just to see whether they are being followed. But to ask whether they are still serving the people they were created to protect instead of hindering your staff from doing the obvious and the good.