Mentors and Morons Who Taught Me to Lead #007: So, Old Fire Dogs Can Learn New Tricks
Recently, I received an email from one of my old colleagues – Bobby K. I’ll leave his last name unfinished – kinda’ like his last duty day. And also, because he’s been able to shed his old habits and start a new, even respectable new persona near his old duty haunts – South 29th Street […]
Se7en Habits of Highly Effective Officers
Recently, I wrote an article “7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis” based on Bill George’s book of the same title. The concept has been utilized many times throughout my career during crises of varying degrees of criticality. George’s concept is succinct and, in my experience, effective. When facing a crisis, George advises: Face reality, starting […]
Fall 2021 Newsletter
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Mentors and Morons Who Taught Me to Lead: A Colleague Doesn’t Always Agree With You
Mentors and Morons Who Taught Me to Lead: A Colleague Doesn’t Always Agree With You #006 in the series. I relocated from the Sunshine State to the Old North State just as the pandemic started to gather a head of steam in early 2019. Luckily my training and experience taught me not to panic until […]
Mentors and Morons Who Taught Me to Lead #004: Leadership Doesn’t Have to be Loud
I’ve had the honor of serving with many brave and talented heroes throughout my career. Those who instilled the drive in me to be better, I consider them mentors. I have also crossed paths with several who have demonstrated the worst examples of greed, incompetence, and sometimes cowardice. Those are the morons whose grievances I […]
Summer Newsletter
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DISSECTING THE MAYDAY
The Latest in The Responder Safety Series Few firefighters witness a mayday first-hand. I recall an incident during my early firefighting years following a partial structural collapse in an apartment building with lightweight roof construction. In my humble opinion, a mayday declaration was called for, but the lieutenant failed to do so. Fortunately, interior members […]
Operating In And Around Emergency Vehicles
There’s a saying: “You can’t help them if you don’t get there.” So, the first thing to remember during response is to do it safely. Studies conducted by government and private entities show that fire departments are some of the safest emergency responders. A 2017 study found that fire responders experienced a response fatality rate […]
Mentors & Morons Who Taught Me to Lead #003
A Firefighter’s Friend I must remind myself that this blog is supposed to be positive. Therapeutic. Cathartic. At least that’s what my friends in mental health tell me. Think: “Half full versus half empty”…”Tomorrow will be a better day”…blah, blah, blah. To be honest, my interaction with mentors in the fire service was very limited, […]
Clear and Present Challenge: Responding to Civil Unrest
Responder Safety Series A storm has been brewing for many years across our great Nation. Some call it differences of opinion while others label it a stand for their way of life. Regardless of the reason or rationale, responders from all disciplines respond (often at extreme risk) to the peaceful demonstration that quickly escalates into […]