2026 Community of Human and Organizational Learning 32nd Annual Conference

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Understanding and Applying HOP Principles
Learning about Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) principles, concepts, and tools can feel overwhelming at first. They sound good in theory—but what do they really mean for your team, and how do you apply them in practice?
For some organizations, HOP has been part of the culture for years, woven into procedures and everyday work. But if you’re new to HOP—or trying to influence others—it helps to start with familiar examples.
Take the concepts of checklists and placekeeping. In everyday life, people use shopping lists to avoid missing or duplicating items. Now imagine going shopping without a pen to mark off what you’ve bought—frustrating, right? That simple habit illustrates why checklists matter: they reduce errors and improve reliability.
By connecting HOP principles to real-life experiences, people can see that these practices aren’t abstract—they’re practical. Start by asking: What do we already do to prevent mistakes? How can we apply those same habits at work? This approach makes HOP relatable and actionable.

In a world where we often describe work life in terms of war (fighting to survive in industry, error as a threat, shielding our culture, hero stories, and so on), there is another option. Let's walk together into a different way of thinking. A perspective of organizational life not as conflict, but as the evolving course, ebbs, and flows of a river.

The human brain makes thousands of rapid fire judgements as we process information around our environment, our interactions, and our experiences.  Most of the time these quick judgements – based on our previous experiences, serve to short cut complex decision making structures and limit decision fatigue by using our natural tendency to recognize patterns to push us forward throughout our day – But sometimes the details are nuanced, the situation is different from expected, and these assumptions can lead us into Error Traps.