You can’t see it. You can’t smell it. You can’t taste it. But it can kill you.
I first learned that lesson not in terms of food safety, but hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface aboard a nuclear submarine. As a nuclear propulsion plant supervisor and reactor quality assurance supervisor, I faced an invisible enemy every day: radiation.
To track it, I wore three dosimeters. The first gave me a quick, but imperfect, reading. The second was highly accurate, but could only be checked shortly after leaving the reactor compartment. The third was used only to measure catastrophic exposure — but by then, it was too late.
Radiation, like many foodborne pathogens, is silent and hidden. In both worlds, the real danger comes when people stop paying attention, assume someone else is watching, or stay quiet until harm is irreversible because speaking up feels inconvenient.
That’s why leadership in food safety isn’t defined by reacting to crises – it’s about preparing for what no one sees coming. It’s ensuring the system works before anyone gets sick, before tragedy strikes.
This is the conversation I’m bringing to SXSW 2026 (South by SouthWest 2026) with Tyler Williams, CEO of ASI. Together, we’ll explore how leaders can recognize and act on invisible threats before they become disasters.
Whether you’re patrolling the depths of the ocean or protecting the food on our tables, the deadliest danger is the one we ignore.
Help us bring this dialogue to SXSW 2026 by voting for “3 Dosimeters: Leading in Crises to Combat Invisible Threats” before Aug. 24, 2025.
Click here to vote.
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