Who is your enemy? In the study of conflict, an adversary should be understood.  Adversary is, believe it or not, a better term for your opposition.  While in some cases it may SEEM like constant opposition, there are moments in which your adversary may be able to teach you a lesson. Instead of spending time hating our enemy, we should channel that energy to see if it can make us stronger.  By looking at oursleves from the eyes of an adversary, you can examine weaknesses and vulnerabilities.  Having identified those, you can grow from there.

It takes a strong will, sometimes, to stomach some of what your adversary might say.  But even in their eyes, there is probably a glimmer of truth.  In regard to competing interests, my wife likes to say there are three sides to the story: Person X's story, Person Y's story, and the truth in between.  Your own perspective is sometimes clouded by self-interest, ego, experience, or just pure, raw emotion.  When faced with conflict, the best place to examine for a solution starts in examining your own heart.

I have mentioned before that knowing your enemy has advantages, not just because you might be able to anticipate their actions and reactions, but because by looking at challenges with a different set of eyes, you might see your way toward a peaceful resolution that is win-win for all involved.

Open your mind, listen, and learn.  You can spend all day hating after you get all the facts, but when faced with conflict, the time to make things work is before things get bad, not after they escalate. 

I have been following with interest the discussion of a National Firefighter Code of Ethics.  The other day I saw that Ken Willette, the Public Fire Protection Division Manager at NFPA, blogged about the one written by the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association this past year.  Being obtuse, like I often am, I had actually never gone to the FirefighterBehavior.com blog although I have seen some of the well-written articles that have come from posts on there.  Nothing like going to the source, huh?  Well, if you haven't done it, you need to go yourself, and when you are through, being the fire service leaders I sense you are, send your people there as well.

But this doesn't stop at the fire service.  In fact, as I have said many times before, there are lessons to be learned from a brotherhood of individuals who, as recently as a decade before, were considered to be the last bastion of integrity, honor, and valor in a society in which those values have been eroding daily.  The ever-decaying values in the fire service are an excellent case study, and many questions can come from how we went from where we were to where we are today.

And I am not suggesting that the entire fire service lacks these ideals; we just have not been very good at removing the elements from our midst who do not embrace those same values.  Well, our profession (and for the uninitiated, this refers to both career and volunteer professionals in the emergency services business) has been challenged by a number of external forces that, to the casual observer, seem to have affected the type of person we are getting to replace those who have gone on to other places.

Emergency response, paid or not, is very much a value-driven occupation.  Just because you show up and put out a fire or lug someone to the hospital, is irrelevant, despite the arguments that we are not customer oriented.  If anything, our business is all about the customer, because frankly, we tell people all the time that we can replace their material objects, but we can't replace the people.  We say this is the reason we rescue first and not salvage first.  But ironically, we have many of the same people saying that we shouldn't consult with our community in the spirit of partnership, or that we know better than they do what they need, or even more cynically, that their observations regarding our service and the way we do it doesn't even matter.

Therefore, there is a profound need to make sure the people we bring in not only have read and signed a memo telling them what our ethics happen to be, but that they LIVE these ethics.  That they BREATHE these ethics.  That they BELIEVE in these ethics and that they are proud to associate with others, a brotherhood of others, who feel the same way.

A while back, I happened upon a rollover in another jurisdiction while off-duty, and stopped to see if they needed any help. The driver was already on the way to the hospital, and the crews were just picking up debris, but I know a lot of firefighters in that jurisdiction, so I was really just chatting before heading on.  In the corner of my eye, I saw a firefighter pick up a phone on the ground.

I don't know about you, but my cell phone wasn't cheap, and they aren't indestructible either.  Plus, even if it is just damaged, you could still get the contacts off of it, etc.  But the firefighter opened up the phone, laughed to himself, and THREW the phone into the damaged car.  Not gently, mind you, but enough that it broke.  Since it wasn't my jurisdiction, but everyone there knew me, I walked over and picked up the now damaged phone, then handed it to a trooper.  I glared at the guy on the way by, but I didn't say anything. But I let him know that this was unacceptable, at least in my department.

I won't say that we don't have any of those types in our organization, but as Capt. Tom and I were saying the other day, the balance has been strongly tipped in favor of the "good guys" for a while now, and we continue to drum our organizational culture into those who don't get it.  But these values don't come naturally to some and frankly, do you even want to take the chance of trying to drag a member to that place, or should we look first for those with the right stuff, and then TEACH them to be a firefighter?

If I were advertising, I would say that if you revel in someone's misfortunes, or if you like the power of being a uniformed public official, or if driving in total disregard of others appeals to you because you have lights and siren, you probably shouldn't apply.  There's nothing at all wrong with chasing the adrenaline, but it certainly needs to be kept in the perspective that you will take on a challenge to help others, not to wish it on people so you can get your fix.

If we really believe in our brotherhood, our profession, as a calling rather than just a job, we need to take a look at who we introduce to the team. So long as we continue to permit those who are among us to soil our ranks because they fill a spot, we will continue to tarnish the image we used to be proud of.  I, for one, prefer that when I go to see my kids at school, they consider firefighters to be worthy of admiration, rather than another person they can't trust.  There's a lot of that going around lately, let's not let it happen to us.

I fell asleep at my computer last night.

I am working on a project that has pretty much occupied all of my time over the course of the last three shifts. I think, in retrospect, that the reason that I am having to embark on this dreaded project is simply that a great number of people failed to understand that their actions or inaction created a mess that someday would have to be unraveled.

The mess doesn't even go back a short while.  When I say a great number, I am talking about numbers probably nearing a hundred.  Anyone close to this project that knows that I am talking in circles and understands the scope of this project might disagree with me, but I see the failure in my own interface with the situation, and I see the failures in many others who permitted the condition to occur, knowingly or not.

In a microscope, closely examining one piece of the puzzle, you might not even notice the problem exists.  But when you step back and look at the larger picture, you can see it is definitely crooked.  There are warning signs printed all over this and frankly, they were ignored. But they are insignificant when you step back even farther and realize that any problems we face today could have been avoided had individuals assumed some responsibility and did the right thing early on.

One of the principals in this project called out everyone else on the team and with good reason.  I say that because he is absolutely right; the system failed us.  Or to be clear, we failed the system, because it wasn't all to be blamed on the way we manage these situations.  Instead, key stakeholders ignored critical information.  They felt like status quo was acceptable. Or perhaps they felt inadequate to address the most pressing challenges.  I told this individual that while the historical aspect of how we got to this place is important, just to put the picture in perspective, who to blame is irrelevant. The situation is what it is and you can't unring a bell.  We must look forward.

Those of you reading this might assume you know what I am referring to, but I am suggesting to you that you re-read it and ask yourself, "What am I doing that is creating this same situation today?"  Because if you are honest with yourself, there are any number of issues I have to deal with that follow this chain of events and I am sure I am not alone.

I have quoted my father on any number of occasions in this regard, probably the quote that will stick with me for the rest of my life: "Do it right the first time."  Had we addressed the issues when they were small, had we fixed the leak, had we prevented the spark, had we communicated the concerns, if we had done any of these things, would they have corrected the problem before we got to this disaster we now embrace?

Let go of your concerns for a moment and realize that a drop of water contributes to the flood that sweeps away your home.  Everything affects everything else and that ripple becomes a wave, given the right conditions to grow.  Don't be part of the problem; solve the issues before they become a nightmare to untangle. 

I have to be a little amused at the emergency service types who pride themselves on being "the best at their job", but couldn't figure out how to do something if you were swatting them in the head with the instruction manual.  I have a little rule: if you call me, you'd better have tried to solve the problem yourself first.  I don't have a lot of tolerance for those who throw up their hands at the slightest issue and bemoan their inability to move along.

Ironically, I have heard these very same folks complain when a little old lady calls 9-1-1 because they have fallen out of bed, or have a broken pipe, or their smoke detector is chirping. I have heard it straight from their mouths: "Why do these idiots call us?  What makes them think the fire department is there to solve all their problems?"

It really makes me want to say, "You know, the next time you make a comment about how bad things are, or something is broken and you don't know what to do, or how miserable your existence is because the so-and-so doesn't work, I'm probably just going to tell you to STFU." And most of the time, that's exactly what I say, which doesn't win me a lot of friends.

My daughters are young, but not so young that I can't teach them that helplessness is not an excuse. Its okay for the general population, but if you want to succeed in life, when faced with a problem, solve it. Create a workaround, run it over, beat it with a hammer, but don't just give up and call for help until you absolutely, positively can't move forward without it.

There's nothing wrong with asking for help.  People need help because they lack the resources to solve a problem, be it knowledge, tools, ability, or some other issue.  But when the people who are supposed to be solving problems for others can't figure out how to solve problems on their own without involving the next two levels of command, I have a problem with that.

I read a great article today from the New York Times that was being tweeted by a childhood friend of mine: Average Is Over by Thomas Friedman.  In it there is discussion that in order to be successful in today's new world, being average doesn't cut it.  You had better find a niche or some sort of expertise in something, because frankly, graduating high school and going out into the workforce to be content on an assembly line isn't going to happen, unless of course, you happen to be Chinese and living in a factory dorm.

Our industry, the industry of helping people, is one of those niches that can pay off. Maybe the actual delivery of firefighting can be passed off to the bots, but all the technology in the world isn't going to be able to analyze a problem, take what you brought, and develop a solution using grit, spit and duct tape.

You have an opportunity to be successful because our business is the business of fixing problems.  But if you can't manage to get through your shift because your e-mail is down, or if the entire day is wrecked because the air conditioning is out in the engine, well, you might want to consider a new career as a sheep.  Success comes to people who solve the challenges they are faced with with the resources they have access to.  Those who can't, don't. 

The Emperor went to the Zen Master and asked, "What does an enlightened master experience when he is dead?" The master shrugged and said, "I do not know."

The Emperor replied, "You are a master and you do not know?" The master said, "I am a master, but I am not dead."

I don't know anything, I just teach what I have learned. I realize I don't know everything and I strive to know more daily.  There are those who can't be told anything; they know everything already.

This blog is about not knowing everything.  We should always be open to learn more and understand the perspectives of others.  Even when you think you are absolutely right, it is not hard to find that the other person is right as well.

When I say something here, it is probably because I am sounding it out myself.  By reading my work, I continue to dwell on it and learn some more.  But I don't have the answers.  You do.  Share what you know and learn from others.

An article on the Buddhist Channel website quoted His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, as he "called on people to be responsible human beings, to think more of the entire world they live in, rather than caring about their own narrow interests alone, as a way out of the global crisis." The Dalai Lama went on to say that avarice and short-sightedness were to blame, adding that people were guided by emotion and did not think of the long-term consequences.

Later int he article, the Dalai Lama was quoted as having said: "To establish harmony in these relations, we need to learn other religions. If you focus on traditions of different religions, you'll see that there are many similarities. If there are some 'bad' people among representatives of one religion, one must not judge by it about religion as a whole."

I was speaking yesterday with my officers as I made my rounds.  A few weeks back I sent a questionnaire to my personnel, asking them, basically, to conduct a SWOT analysis of our organization over 2011.  If you aren't aware, SWOT is an acronym for "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats".  This is a tool you can use to perform  analysis prior to conducting strategic planning for your team.

When the surveys were returned, there were some things that I took personally.  That's not hard to do when you have ownership of your organization and I have always believed if there were problems, I could take care of them and I don't wait for others to take action.  But before reacting to those statements, I stopped and reflected a little bit.  When I spoke with my officers, as always, I reiterated to them that many of our problems, not just in our department, but in society, come from an unwillingess, or an inability to see the situation from another person's point of view.  In this case it was evident that I thought I had all the answers and it was not the case.  In fact, my involvement in some situations may very well have exacerbated some of the problems.

I give my officers a considerable amount of leeway because they have my trust,  And so you know, this isn't that feel-good Kumbaya "I trust you even when you screw me on every instance I leave you alone" kind of trust either.  My officers earned my trust and they make good decisions, not just to support the organization, but even more so, on behalf of the community we serve.  So when they tell me they have a problem with me, it isn't them complaining, it's the feedback I asked for and the feedback I deserve.

Any time you have a problem with someone, it really helps to reflect on the situation and ask yourself if there was a possibility you had something to do with that problem.  It may be that we weren't clear, or we trusted too much and didn't provide any preparation, or there may have been some other sort of issue.  But regardless, it is up to us to put ego aside and determine what the cause of the problem was and instead of pointing fingers, to determine what we can do to resolve the issues, educate everyone involved, and to move forward.

So here you are and its a new year.  What better time to look at things from a new perspective and to better understand the issues you deal with daily?  Instead of focusing on who screwed up, try focusing on what happened to get us in this jam to begin with, and then, what can we do to avoid having it happen again.  I have heard it said before, if you spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror, you are very likely going to crash into whatever is in front of you.

As the first act of this year, let's resolve to do less pointing of fingers and more walking a mile in another's shoes.  I think by approaching some of our challenges this way we might find more commonalities than differences, and in changing, find healing and growth. 

What if in 2012 we said "What if?" a lot more?  I am working on a book right now and I have been fleshing out some of my ideas, but what kept coming up was that nagging "What if?" question.  Our industry is changing daily and we don't even kniow it yet.  It is like a pile of rock, sitting on the edge of a precipice, waiting for the right shift in the landscape to send it hurtling below.

I was watching a commerical on television the other day for a healthcare company.  They were suggesting, essentially, conceirge-type service for patients that used their facility.  Warm blankets, snacks, nicer gowns, all in the effort to be a little more receptive to the needs of the patient.  Right now, while our healthcare choices are open, in reality, they are pretty limited.  You are limited as to what resources are available to you, how much you can afford to pay for them, and how tolerant you are of the way you will be treated when you use that service.  

While socialized healthcare has its detractors, in fact, if you look at socialized healthcare in Australia, what it DID do was open up markets for healthcare more suited for your needs if you could pay for that type of service.  No matter what, if you need service, it is there for you.  Whether or not the service is adequate or timely is not part of the debate: if you can't afford healthcare, you can get it.  But if you can afford healthcare, you can get it with added value.  In our nation, it doesn't matter if you can afford it or you can't: you get what you get.

This isn't an arguement for or against socialized healthcare though.  It is an arguement that just because you don't currently percieve the civilian population to have a choice, they do.  Someday, and it might be soon, the resources for public firefighting may dry up.  Look at the pop-ups beginning in California: you can get fire protection for your community in the event of a big wildfire, but there are now companies that will GUARANTEE you service.  If people are willing to pay for the upgrade, they will.

If you don't believe that things will be changing in the near future, keep your eyes on this blog because in 2012, we will be talking more about what changes might occur and I am hoping you are paying attention.  Because frankly, if you fail to see the changes before they occur, you will be left wondering what happened while the rest of us leave you in the dust.  And you may not like the things I have to say one bit, but honestly, you had best listen because the changes are coming to your neighborhood soon.

Have a great New Year. 

How is it that I can be even remotely positive?  Well, things pop up that cause me to think deeply about what it is we are called to do and how we go about it.  For example, I'm sitting here in our warehouse at a workstation I'm not normally at, planning on a quick Zen Zone post.  Instead, my eyes are drawn to a page from the publication Our Daily Bread, folded open to where one of our colleagues has apparently put it for inspiration.  In response to Isaiah 26:1-9 - "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you" – it reads, "When we put our problems in God's hands, He puts His peace in our hearts."

I found a certain amount of peace during my most challenging periods in life. This year I think I have failed to do that on many occasions. I found myself arguing internally with what I have been taught and what I have seen.  In the very beginning of this year, we witnessed tremendous suffering among many and callousness of those who profited from that suffering.  We experienced great disasters, we experienced personal loss, and we experienced challenges to values we considered to be right.  And we continue to be faced with hypocrisy, profiteering, and greed, while a great many simply gawk at the problems and assume someone else will save us. 

In speaking about the strength of belief before, I pointed out that belief can be very powerful and even dangerous.  Conversely, belief can be life-changing, inspirational, and healing.  I know first hand of instances where profound belief, even in complete contradiction to science, has proven to be miraculous.  A mentor of mine, whose wife has been dealing with congenital heart and lung malformations for decades, was told he would lose his wife if she were not to have a heart and lung transplant.  This was back around 1983 or so that he as told this.  She is still with us, and science hasn't been able to justify any reason why.  But I can assure you, she and her husband are examples of people with a tremendous amount of faith.  You can't look at them and knowing all they have been through, think anything other than faith heals.

We can't answer a lot and science tries daily to put our lives into context, only to open more questions. I heard once that when asked about the schism between science and faith, a researcher said that you can't be a scientist and not believe, because when one door is opened, it just seems to reveal more doors.  Life itself is still too complex to even be answered by science.

Belief is more than about religion.  Belief transcends religion.  In my eyes, religion is just a way for us to frame the existence of God in a manner we can understand.  We have no way of knowing if and when any of the world's religions are right or wrong, but they all certainly have the shared themes of justice, discipline, and virtue, among other qualities.  In these shared values we should all be working toward a better existence rather than trying to decide how we are going to divide up the globe.

In looking back on the issues that faced us in 2011, I found much in the way of rhetoric from our leaders and very little in the way of solutions.  In an amazing year when solutions should have been pursued to make lives easier, political, religious, governmental, non-governmental, and educational leaders failed their followers on any number of occasions.  And when a leadership vacuum occurs, something is going to fill the void.  In our case, I'm not sure I like the looks of that eventuality.

I choose to believe that there are people out there who really care about others and care to make our world a better place to live.  I believe that there are those who are good and just individuals and will fight to preserve the rights of those who can't fight for those rights themselves, those being the young, the elderly, the poor, and the oppressed.

Leadership starts at the roots.  If you are a leader, it doesn't start at the moment you hit the firehouse doors, it is a life choice.  If you are truly a leader, you live it at home, in your work, in your church, in your community.  At this time in our lives, we really need good leaders.  We need those of you with values that encourage hard work, belief in others, justice, and civility to step forward and take on some of these pseudo-leaders.  This isn't an issue of what party you are a member of, or what church you attend, or what school you graduated from.  It is an issue of being an example for those who need to see what an example of good leadership is, of being a good steward of your community, and of serving others.

When 2012 rolls around, I am hoping that those of you who read this share it with those who can also fill the post, and each of you pass it along to create a new "virus" of good, not evil; love, not hate; of peace and fairness; of prosperity for those who strive for it and earn it rather than for those who happen to have access to the backroom deals. 

This should not be a time of anarchy.  Anarchy is definitely NOT what we need right now.  We need leaders who understand what their followers are going through and are empathetic.  We need people to stand up to the bullies and to advocate for those who need it most.  We need to be tolerant of each other and have the difficult conversations without those conversations lapsing into angry diatribes and accusations.  We need leaders who believe in the good to rise up and to cause positive change to the status quo.

In this season of celebration, our entire world should be celebrating the changes that came about when the oppressed finally shrugged off their bonds, in places like Egypt, Libya, and many others.  We need to allow those who will speak against the entrenched to do so, even in our own nation, without fear of persecution.  But regardless, we have to believe in one another, we need to have faith, and we need to be looking right now to whatever we believe in to help bring us together, because we are all one people, and we should be sharing our burdens to lighten the load, picking up some of the load for others who need help, and being a real member of the human race, not just a sheep pretending to be.  Actions speak louder than words.  Do something in 2012 to help others.

If you are doubting in the events happening around our world, contemplate what is really happening around you.  Realize that there are deep, deep connections we have to one another and that nobody, not even those religious or scientific, can explain how they work.  But if we can have faith in others, in ourselves, and in a higher being, however it manifests itself, we can reflect on those problems and work toward a better solution. Even when things seem dark, take a moment and meditate on what you are being presented wth, understand it, and see it for what it is.  Every door we open is to another room with other doors.  Create opportunity, focus on the goal, and move forward.

"Do I look like a cat to you boy? Am I jumpin' around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree? Am I drinking milk from a saucer? DO YOU SEE ME EATING MICE?" – Trooper Foster, Super Troopers

Sometimes you just have to laugh.  That's a quote, too, from The Wonderpets. If you take yourself too seriously, you won't be much fun to be around.  But laughter has many other benefits, one of which is the ability to improve your outlook and increase your positivity.  At some point when things are pretty bad and you have a moment to yourself, reflect on something you find funny about the situation.  And it should go without saying that I stress "to yourself" because when things get pretty bad, sometimes the attempt at humor isn't shared.

However, having a smile to yourself, even in private, works wonders.  And like Springsteen once said, "Someday we will look back and it will all seem funny". Note that he specifically didn't say it would "be" funny.  Seeing even some dark humor in a bad event can sometimes at least help you cope. And in our business, being able to cope means that you can live for another day.

Keep it together and watch out for one another.  Stay safe during this holiday season.  And find time to laugh.

Years ago (and when I look back on it, it WAS years ago), when I signed onto what was then a fledgling internet forum on fire service issues, I imagined a place on line similar to some of the think-tank type collaborations I have at times, found myself participating in.  You know, or maybe you don't: beer, talk about deeper issues of the business, stimulating thought, laughter, and long-term friendships.  I have seen some pretty crazy ideas come out of some of those live skull sessions and revolutionize the way we operate emergency services in this nation.

I remember joining with some of the other internet monsters at the time to discuss a certain firefighter training fatality that didn't have to happen.  And while the discussions got hot sometimes, we were forging into uncharted territory.  As a result, I have "met" people on the internet who have inspired me and kept me going on some of my ventures, as I hope I have done the same for. Some of you may even recall those days, in the early days of the International Association of Crusty Old Jakes.  I wasn't a plank holder, but they quickly welcomed me in and I was humbled to be allowed to come join in their side conversations. 

A recent project I am working on has brought me together with some principals in the business and we are spinning an idea we had into something that could be so, so cool.  And we're playing with it.  And the conversation is light, thoughtful, and insightful.  It's really what I want, it is really what I thought this all would really be about. I enjoy having insightful conversation with people who get it.  I know not everyone does, so I am also happy to talk to those people.  But when the party gets crashed by the loud, the obnoxious, the pretenders, and the wannabes, it is then that I move along.  But that's the beauty of this place here, Firehouse Zen, I guess.  We haven't drawn interest from that crowd, so it's comfortable, it's entertaining, and I like the people I'm hanging with.  And a few of the projects I am working on right now seem to be moving in the same direction.

If you want to recharge your batteries, hang out with those who engage you and challenge you, but enjoy being with them. It's enjoying these people that gives you the energy to create.