Archives for fire-rescue-topics

See all posts in the network tagged with fire-rescue-topics

A Waste Of Time

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.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on January 28, 2012 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: behavior, change, chief, coaching, conditions, conflict, counseling, customer service, development, disaster, discipline, education, ego, EMS, environment, evaluation, failure, FHZ, fire, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, integrity, leadership, management, mentoring, Mick Mayers, motivation, officer, planning, positive, prevention, proactive, professionalism, progression, project, rescue, South Carolina, Task Force 1, Training, understanding, values, vision, zen, zen zone

Firehouse Zen in Philadelphia at Liberty Regional Training Event

No comments

I'm returning to my hometown November 4 through 6, 2011, for a few cheesesteaks (I'm a Pat's Steaks guy), to see some childhood friends, and mostly, to share some of my insights at the inaugural Liberty Regional Training Event presented by GoForward.

While Philly is a big place, the event is being held literally in my old backyard, within an easy walk from my old house. And I should know, I used to have to do that all the time. I actually used to sneak into the movie theatre that is in the hotel complex downstairs from the convention center during the summer and swim (unauthorized) in the hotel pool. Back then it was a harmless day spent being a delinquent, nowadays, someone would have you hauled off to jail.

But all that being said, I'm excited to be involved in this event and from what we are seeing so far, the excitement isn't limited to me. And further, if this and the others planned go off well, they could end up being regular stops packed with some of the most exciting names in today's (and tomorrow's) fire service.

So while you have a chance, sign up, join me for a few cocktails on Friday night, and especially join me during my two scheduled presentations: Zen and the Chief Officer and You Can't Make This Stuff Up. Hopefully I will be able to meet some of you who have only been able to interact with me here. I'm looking forward to that weekend.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on October 4, 2011 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: change, Command & Leadership, conflict, consensus, education, ego, EMS, EMS Topics, FHZ, fire rescue topics, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, forward, GoForward, government, Hilton Head Island, integrity, King of Prussia, leadership, learning, Liberty Regional, management, Mick Mayers, mission, motivation, opportunity, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, politics, positive, professionalism, resources, South Carolina, step, teamwork, thought, Training, values, vision, warfare, zen zone

Poor Leaders Are Like Noxious Gas?

No comments

The lack of real leadership surfaces in a number of the world’s problems. I don’t necessarily feel like people can’t handle the job, I just think that in a lot of cases, people are designated as leaders who have no business in that position. To me, they are like gases with asphyxiant properties.

Some of these gases or mixtures aren’t necessarily harmful in and of themselves, but to us, their harm is that just by occupying space with their presence, they ruin what could be a perfectly suitable atmosphere. So to make the atmosphere tenable again, one effective tactic would be to replace these noxious materials with the materials we find suitable.

Similarly, poor leaders displace good leaders. By just being present and nothing else, they contaminate the atmosphere. As a result, good leaders are simply forced elsewhere. Hopefully those good leaders can find places to create a better condition, but the loss of those individuals is intolerable to those left behind and the organization suffers.

In reading and watching the news in recent days I am reminded just how damaging these “asphyxiants” can be to organizations and really, to society. I see my job as being one to facilitate good leadership. I try to encourage you to be better people, to use good judgment, to learn and understand, and to be “missionaries”, carrying the message of good leadership to others. I don’t consider myself to be a good leader – I see myself as a continual work in process and have plenty of faults – but I recognize good leadership and I have observed what it takes to promote good leadership in others.

As much as I’d like to suggest to poor leaders that they should move out of the way to permit good leaders to fill that space, I think it is more realistic to say that perhaps we should convince those individuals to be more open-minded to learning, to engaging their people, and to promoting good practices. So you can see, instead of removing the problem, there is another tactic we can use in mitigating an asphyxiant atmosphere: by mixing the material in with a good atmosphere and making it much smaller in proportion to the whole, we can “safe” the atmosphere. While we may not always have the answers, if we can permit ourselves to be exposed to good practices and to see how things should work, we can make things better, incrementally, but just the same, much improved.

Be an agent of positive change. Promote best practices. And let’s all go home in the morning.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on September 21, 2011 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: advice, asphyxiant, atmosphere, best practices, change, Command & Leadership, conflict, contaminant, education, ego, EMS, EMS Topics, FHZ, fire rescue topics, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, forward, government, HAZMAT, Hilton Head Island, integrity, leadership, learning, management, Mick Mayers, mission, mixture, motivation, noxious, opportunity, politics, positive, professionalism, resources, South Carolina, thought, Training, values, vision

Zen Zone #30

No comments

Today I was driving along, frustrated over some of the issues we face in society, wondering why some people just don't get "it". This story returned to me when I was meditating and I found it answered my questions. Instead of feeling contempt or anger for those who can't seem to understand an enlightened existence, perhaps we should feel compassion for them.

Ryokan was a Japanese Zen master who lived alone in a hut at the foot of a mountain. He lived in abject poverty and his hut was empty. The Master slept on the ground and spent his days meditating on a rock. One evening a thief crawled through the window of his hut, but discovered that there was absolutely nothing to steal.

Awakening, Ryokan startled the robber by greeting him and welcoming him into his home. When the thief wanted to leave, Ryokan said, "You have come so far to visit me and I would be dishonored if you left enpty-handed". Having no belongings, Ryokan gave the robber his own tattered robe.

The thief was completely at a loss for words, and he took the robe and crept away into the night. Later, when meditating on the situation under the full moon, the Master thought, "How unfortunate. The only thing I could offer that man was my tattered robe. I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon."

The story also has another meaning as well; that we should always consider that while things might be bad for us, perhaps there are others who are suffering worse. I said the other day that we should increase our capacity for compassion, and on the fire service front, I guess it could be much worse. You could be faced with a scenario like this one in Kenya.

When you are challenged with a problem, it always helps to maintain perspective.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on September 12, 2011 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Mass Casualty Incident, News • Tagged: advice, BBC, breaking news, change, Command & Leadership, conflict, death, education, ego, EMS, EMS Topics, FHZ, fire rescue topics, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, forward, gasoline, government, Hilton Head Island, integrity, Kenya, koan, leadership, learning, management, Mick Mayers, mission, motivation, opportunity, pipeline, politics, positive, professionalism, resources, South Carolina, step, thought, Training, values, vision, zen zone

9/11: “Devoted To Duty Above Personal Risk”

No comments

A little something about me you may not have known: I used to design fire department patches (NOTE: I did not design this one; it is from The Fire Store, but it was exactly the image I was looking for). In fact, when I first got involved in the fire service, I designed quite a few of them and one of them, the patch I designed for the Bluffton Township Fire District, our neighbors here in South Carolina, is still being used. The Chief and the Assistant Chief at the time (who is now the Chief) wanted a motto on the patch. The motto we came up with is still being used: "Devoted to duty above personal risk." It still sounds good and to be quite honest, with most of us, it is the truth.

Given some of my posts, some of you, I think believe I'm a safety nazi. That's pretty far from the truth actually. I'm a true believer; when I got into the business, I did so because I wanted to be involved in it and because my family tradition led me there. But I'm the kind of guy that if I didn't believe in it, I wouldn't have stuck around. And the danger and the thrill, personally, did it for me. What's more, it wasn't enough.

Over the years, however, I matured. I grew up, which unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you speak to) changes things. I had the good fortune to meet movers and shakers in the emergency service world and each of them had a story to tell. Mostly their story was that while it was fun being at the edge of sanity with some of the heroics we pulled off and the chest full of medals we earned, we never really appreciated the impact that one stupid move could make that would change the world forever.

The events of September 11 really put my priorities into focus. On that beautiful September day and on into the night, I stood in front of the TV in my living room, oftentimes holding my then-baby daughter, with tears in my eyes when I realized that 343 of my brothers perished in the line of duty. The effect that this loss has had on our nation is questionable, as today it seems like the public has forgotten that day. But the scar it left on our job, on our family, is impenetrable. There are children growing up whose fathers will never hold them or see them graduate or walk them down the aisle. Or even look on with pride as they too choose to join our brotherhood. Who won't be there to pin on Lieutenant's bugles at that first promotion. Each of these 343 individuals had a profound impact on a number of others, and that ripple effect continues outward and outward until millions, even billions in this case, are impacted.

But the tragedy that happened that day is an anomaly, a blip in the statistics of firefighter mortality. In fact, we can't ever factor in the loss of 343 individuals on that one day in any of the data we analyze because it throws wild swings into the results. That certainly doesn't decrease their contribution any more. In fact, it immortalizes it. Forever that will be a group of people who stand alone. But the 100 or so firefighters who die in the line of duty each year are considered, in a figure that has decreased over time, but not nearly in proportion to the fires we now fight. Looking at the situation after that day and understanding the effect the loss of those 343 people had on so many, it is obvious that any casual approach to safety results not just in a loss to the immediate individuals involved, but to many others. Any poor decision causes a ripple that can become a tsunami.

So on a grand scale, the loss of even ONE firefighter is an unacceptable one and extrapolated out into an average loss of 100 brothers a year affects not just you or your crew, but families and community, and everything else, multiplied 100 times. And when a significant number of these injuries and deaths occur not from heroic deeds, but from failing to use common sense, I struggle with the argument that our "safety culture is ruining the fire service". Let's just take the injuries and deaths that HAVE occurred from people putting themselves in harm's way out of the equation, and in looking at casualties that are related to cardiac events and failure to wear seatbelts, we could make a significant impact on sending more brothers home every day than ever before.

But we CONTINUE to resist changes in our industry that would make that difference. Why? Because you safety nazis are sucking the fun out of our job. Because you are unreasonable in expecting me to maintain appropriate cardiac health to do the job. Because we resist the notion that there should be a standard for doing the job. Because it is inconvenient for me to wear my seatbelt.

There is absolutely no argument you can make to me that can reasonably suggest that increasing our safety is a bad idea. I am a chief officer now. I joke that my white helmet will likely remain white until I die, because my job is to send you guys in and to make sure that all I sent in comes back out in the same condition. It's not the fun part of the job, but at some point, I had to grow up and accept my role. I am no longer the "go to" guy on the scene for a really hairy rescue and even though I understand that, it's never going to escape me.

A few years ago, I jumped into the water with Capt. Tom from the EMS12Lead blog and we made a rescue. While he was a Lieutenant at the time, I was a chief. My chief, when handing me the Meritorious Service Medal (I missed the actual ceremony, Capt. Tom got one too), reminded me that my job was no longer in the water, but on the shore. He also indicated it would probably be my last medal. I indicated that if I got another medal it would probably be my last medal because I'd be looking for another job. He laughed at that. But it was an awakening. I realized how right he was. My job is to keep you guys safe. You job is to be safe about doing it and to only take risk when the risk is worth it. Not only will I keep from throwing your body into an unwinnable battle, I ask that you keep from making decisions that require the same.

We lost 343 brother firefighters in one day in New York City. They, as well as many more firefighters and other public safety professionals who survived, considered their duty to save others from that infernal hell and did so for thousands and thousands of others, and to their credit, we should be thanking them all for their courageous actions. But this tradition was an act that isn't replicated in all of these line of duty deaths, because in the majority of line of duty deaths, preventable actions or shall I say, more mature and considerate actions, could have saved firefighter lives.

To put it plainly, the lives we lost were not traded for a single save. Our "duty above personal risk", while meant to signify that willingness to sacrifice, can also be read that we are devoted to "duty" above "personal risk". We have a duty, not only to save the lives of endangered victims, but to be there to lead our families, to be there to teach our rookie firefighters, to be there to be a Cub Scout leader or to work in the PTA. We have a duty to live our lives to the fullest, not to casually throw our lives away without a sane reason.

If the time comes, God forgive me, to throw my life in front of another so that someone may live a full and productive life, I know in my heart what my action will be. But until then, I refuse to commit my body, or yours, to a decision based on a misguided view of heroism, or because it is what we always believed to be the duty of our calling.

Be safe and if anything, in the name of those who have gone before us, honor their memory by being there for everyone who remains. And I ask that God bless the civilian departed and their families on this 10th anniversary of their death. And most of all, God bless and keep our 343 brothers, their families, and the other firefighters who still suffer the effects of the horrible day, both mentally and physically. We love you and miss you all terribly.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on September 11, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Line of Duty • Tagged: 10th Anniversary, 343, 9-11, anger, brothers, cardiovascular, change, conflict, DC, fallen, FDNY, FHZ, fire, firefighter, Firehouse Zen, fitness, FRI, Hilton Head Island, LODD, Mick Mayers, New York, Pentagon, rescue, safety, September 11, South Carolina, stefan svensson, sweden, testing, truth, understanding, united states

Replacing Search K9s With Search Cockroaches?

3 comments

I don't think there is any danger in seeing Man's Best Friend replaced by Man's Disgusting Scourge anytime soon, but this report I got today on the Homeland Security Newswire indicates that more developments have come about for adapting Adam Ant for doing Lassie's work. Instead of packing kibble for deployments, maybe we'll just be able to depend on the remnants of yesterday's MREs.

In this case the researchers are using the Green June Beetle, but given the size of the cockroaches (or Palmetto Bugs, as we like to call them in South Carolina) I have seen, we could probably equip them with a hammer drill and let them tunnel the victims back out of the rubble once they find one.

Cyborg insects are low maintenance, can get into very restricted and virtually inaccessible areas, and with these new developments, can be adapted for a number of different tasks. Some of these cyborg applications could also be used for monitoring hazmats or terrorist attacks, doing pre-entry search and recon for SWAT teams, or spy work. As far as our use of these creatures, the sky (or the basement) is the limit.

Never lose sight of this constant: Change is inevitable. It''s how we deal with it that makes the difference. What we know today as the way we do business may be radically different tomorrow.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on September 6, 2011 • Filed under: change, Fire Rescue Topics, Special Operations, Training & Development, US&R • Tagged: amazing, canine, change, cockroach, conflict, customer service, EMS, FHZ, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Green June Beetle, Hilton Head Island, Homeland Security Newswire, innovate, insect, K9, leadership, management, MAV, Mick Mayers, motivation, network, opportunity, politics, professionalism, rescue, resources, risk reduction, safety, search, South Carolina, strength, Training, UAV, University of Michigan, US&R, vision

Do It Right The First Time

3 comments

I can't remember if I blogged this before, but if so, it bears repeating. When my brother and I were very young, my father, who was also a fire chief, brought home from work some pencils with the phrase, "Do it right the first time" inscribed on them. This message was brought up by my father many times throughout my life, although I'll admit, there are days even today when something goes wrong and I think back to that message.

It may take extra time that you don't think you have. That time may seem very valuable. The shortcut you take may seem like it saves those precious seconds. But I have seen in my life, many times when those shortcuts have proven catastrophic, and in most of those situations, I look at them and wonder, had someone taken a few extra moments to do it right, what the outcome might have been.

While the historical issue between response to rescues in New York City is frustrating and sad, since it seems to me to be the confluence of a power struggle and turf battle, instead of celebrating a terrific save the other day, instead we have this tragedy to contend with, as shared with us by Dave Statter on his blog.

I have always learned and always taught that when lifting, we "crib to the lift". And while the spreaders are not the desired lifting tool, I have used them before and they have worked just fine. I preface that, however by explaining that I am also passionate about physics and when I have used spreaders, I also understood that the force applied must go somewhere, and if the load isn't stabilized, the force is going to create motion we don't want. In this case, the force displaced the object alright: lateral to the support (the spreader) and with nothing to support the load (cribbing) the load went to ground (and victim).

I don't care if you are FDNY, ESU, or anyone else. I have seen this very same shortcut taken before in departments that have had identically catastrophic results. I also recall other times when the load has shifted on the column, in one case, three stacked air bags. In this case, the firefighter, who happened to also be the salesman of the lift bags and should have a little expertise in their use, himself was killed.

There's a lesson to be learned in every tragedy. Aside from the physical principles that apply to all of us here on this planet, there's another very important one. Driving recklessly, failing to wear your seatbelt, not wearing proper PPE, not paying attention to overhead power lines, and in this case, not providing an alternate column to support the load via cribbing, all might seem like they are saving precious seconds, but failing to do the right thing the first time, ended instead in tragedy.

Take a moment to ditch the emotion and be the professionals you are. Do the right thing the first time.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on September 3, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, News, professionalism, rescue, safety, US&R • Tagged: car, change, conflict, crib, customer service, Dave Statter, EMS, ESU, fail, fall, FDNY, FHZ, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, leadership, lift, management, Mick Mayers, motivation, motorcycle, New York, opportunity, politics, professionalism, resources, risk reduction, safety, South Carolina, Task Force 1, Training, truck company, vision

Here’s Something To Be Mad About

4 comments

For all of you who scream insanely when a firefighter is missing his gloves on a Dave Statter video, why don't you get mad about this? This is a paragraph from an AP article featured on FirefighterNation.com.

"Despite the lives at stake, the recommendation to improve radio interoperability for first responders has stalled because of a political fight over whether to allocate 10 MHz of radio spectrum … directly to public safety for a nationwide network, or auction it off to a commercial wireless bidder who would then be required to provide priority access on its network dedicated to public safety during emergencies," says the report, whose authors include 9/11 Commission chairmen Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean.

I distinctly recall the shouts of support from the American public for firefighters everywhere after the Towers fell, and how shocked people were when we let them know that one of our biggest problems is communications interoperability. Then, in 2005, when Katrina blew through, the politicians were adamant that we needed the tools to combat this problem of communications interoperability. And here we are, in 2011 and the politicians still will tell us one thing and do another.

Congress seems to find the time and support to help out their fat cat buddies when times are tough. Banks and corporations get bailed out and corporate big-wigs continue to get record bonuses. In the meanwhile, public servants I work with get lacerated over getting a miniscule pay raises over the last three years, like these firefighters, cops, EMTs, teachers, and city administrators are sitting at home, counting the dough in their offshore accounts and laughing maniacally. Really? And many other people, not just our brothers, are losing benefits, taking furloughs, or worse, losing their jobs altogether.

It makes me sick when I see our politicians sucking up to the ones who shout the loudest on the right or the left while forgetting there are many more of us out here in the middle who are just trying to get by. These are the same individuals with the nerve to take government pensions, government health care, and government paychecks, the whole while saying "government is bloated".

This proposal was meant to make our job safer, to improve our ability to save lives, and to combat disaster in our communities, but instead, our politicians want to continue to discuss the possibility of awarding the block to a commercial wireless company who, of course, stands to make billions off our first responders and probably still give us communications that suck.

If you really want to get mad about something, find a battle worth fighting over. I'm throwing you the ball now, you are supposed to swing at it. Here's one: Call your representatives today and tell them what you think of their continued stalling and their greedy tactics. We need support. This would be the support the politiicans continually promise us when the news cameras are on them and they're hawking their platform on the graves of firefighters, cops and EMTs. It's the same support, of course, that is quickly forgotten when the lobbyists show up and when the big money is up for grabs.

If you don't know who represents you, try this link: ContactingtheCongress.org. It makes it easy for you; there are phone numbers and comment links. Put your money where your mouth is. Or better yet, get some balls and tell your representatives what you think. Your representatives are supposed to be representing you. Instead of taking a few minutes away from your valuable Facebook time posting an anonymous rant against a brother who had a lapse in judgement caught on video, try venting against the real enemies: the political hacks who tell you they support you but can't work together to fund necessary things like fire departments, fire education, and firefighters. Here's a message you can send them: If they want that photo op with dirt on their face, shovel in hand, and helmet on their head, tell 'em they have to earn it first. Support the brotherhood. FTM.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on September 2, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, government, leadership, politics • Tagged: 9-11, AP, change, Commission, communications, congress, customer service, D-Block, education, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, interoperability, Katrina, leadership, management, marketing, Mick Mayers, motivation, opportunity, politics, representative, US&R

A Swedish Massage (or is it message?)

13 comments

Between emotion and other factors, sometimes people make issues out of things they know nothing about, or they fail to consider the facts before they resort to anger. So I kept that partially in mind when I saw the headline about the Swedish fire service “expert” who spoke at FRI this week. Obviously, even the headlines suggested a certain amount of anger from individuals in the American fire service about his statements.

While the headline of the linked article hit me in the gut a little, I was prepared to read something that I would not agree with, nor could ever agree with. In fact, before I even read the article, I already made up my mind that this guy was some academic who had never actually fought a fire before, and now he was going to tell us what we are doing wrong. Before making a statement, however, I actually read the article and you know what? In some of the points he made, he is absolutely right.

I don’t equate the comments he made on RIC (people were making unsafe decisions way before we had to come up with a way to save them from those decisions) as being anything other than his observation. While it may seem to him that people drive more recklessly since they feel safer in their cars, I think there are a few other factors at play when we suggest that firefighters have more comfort from having a RIC present, so they are comfortable taking more risk. I think just the understanding of the fact that a two-man or four-man RIC isn't likely going to get you out of a situation keeps me from going down that slippery slope. But while there are plenty of other things to agree with, those items are debate for another day. What I wanted to talk about was our reactions to the headline as compared to the level of “emotional intelligence” or commonly known as “EQ” (in contrast to IQ) that most people have and how EQ relates to certain events.

I want to keep this brief, but it really plays out in society as I see rational individuals presented with particular situations and instead of reacting to them rationally, they relate to them emotionally instead, and fail to grasp the true issues in play. Instead of seeking understanding, they presume their perception of an event to be the “facts” and are reluctant to see the alternative points of view. Some individuals with higher EQ can be educated, or shown the other views, and then make decisions based on those facts. Others with a little lower EQ may go grudgingly toward understanding. Some go kicking and screaming, and some are completely irrational and unwilling to understand. Obviously, we all score one way or another along that continuum and where we place in there helps us cope with issues that may run counter to our beliefs.

EQ also permits us to temper our behavior and allows us to think before speaking. We have people who frankly, engage their mouths (or fingers, via the keyboard) before comprehending the ramifications of what it is they are saying. While the statements they make may have elements of truth, these statements are “their” truth, and should also involve a little thinking about other viewpoints as well before being said.

Those of you who have known me for a long time may be laughing right now. I admit, I have said my share of things that I have come to regret later. But as I have gotten older, and hopefully, wiser, I have also brought some life experience and education to the table. Over the last fifteen years or so I have begun to understand that not only are most issues presented to us with only the surface points showing, there is usually plenty of time to blame and yell later; first I need to dig deeper and get the real story.

I challenge you to read what was said by the expert with an open mind, and ask yourself, is he wrong? Is he right? But more importantly, ask yourself about your own personal reaction to his statements. Reluctance to change because a situation is presented differently than the way you think, even in the face of facts that indicate truth, indicate not loyalty or tradition, but stubbornness and ignorance. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Get the facts, sort them out, and THEN make a decision to speak. It’s a whole lot less stressful for you and others who surround you that way.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on August 31, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, News • Tagged: anger, change, conflict, FHZ, fire, firefighter, Firehouse Zen, FRI, Hilton Head Island, Mick Mayers, rescue, safety, South Carolina, sweden, truth, understanding, united states

The Middle Way

No comments

"Reforming public education, cutting property taxes, fixing adult and child protective services and funding our budget can all occur when Democrats and Republicans engage in consensus and cooperation – not cynicism and combat." - Gov. Rick Perry

I never thought I'd find myself quoting Gov. Perry, but it reflects the idea of The Middle Way, especially in this time of conflict and anger. There are many ideas that we can all agree upon and that we all hold sacred; ideas that should bond us, unite us, and cause us to realize that while we are individuals, we are also one people, and we should be working together to promote peace and prosperity, not for ourselves alone, but for all.

Finding consensus does not call upon us to abandon our values and our beliefs, but to see the issues as affecting more than just our own little world and working together to coexist. I observe with little humor the anger with zealots and terrorists in this world, finding it contradictory that our own leaders can't see that zealotry in their own positions. The unwillingness by many to consider alternative views on the world's problems are simply hypocritical. I have written many times before about the need for understanding, and even appreciation, of the culture of the adversary. This isn't a call for leaders to embrace the ideas of the opposition. It is a call for leaders to be willing to understand that their approach to solving the problems of today may not be the only approach, nor might that approach be what is best for society as a whole.

Understanding that our personal values are not exclusive to the needs of the many is an important step toward making grown-up decisions and not simply drawing a line in the sand and saying "I've got mine". Even when dealing with something that some people hold as unapproachable, like religious beliefs, must be qualified by realizing that at some point in our existence, perhaps before our own lives, but certainly in the history of Mankind, our own beliefs were likely considered heresy or blasphemy. We must realize that at some point, our beliefs were cause for persecution somewhere on this globe. And somehow, somewhere, we or our ancestors had to make hard decisions about standing for what was right and what was wrong, and learning how to live with others to continue forward. Learning how to live with others requires the decision to accept what we can and cannot change, and create equalibrium so we can tolerate that existence, or begin to find a way to create separation so that our existence is tolerable.

Unless you have all the power to force change in the hearts and minds of others (and you don't), you will have to understand that consensus and acceptance is necessary for peace. That understanding is required for both sides of every issue, unless the issue is incompatible with existence, such as at the point of a gun. In that case, you may see outward expressions of acceptance, but don't be surprised when the pot boils over later.

Understanding consensus is an important part of leading. If you can't help others to understand that and to bring them together on serious issues, and you continue to refuse any efforts toward working together, you can reassure your position to be under attack the moment you let your guard down. As any good tactician will point out for you, while you may not immediately have the resources to combat your opposition, when the center of gravity changes and the opportunity presents itself, to not attack is folly. So to be a leader who thinks that he was able to shove change down someone's throat and to not expect retaliation is to be entirely delusional.

If you really want peace and understanding, work toward those efforts and help to educate those who oppose you, while understanding their beliefs and appreciating those values as well. We may not always agree, but we can be respectful and we can work toward living together and sharing the things we do hold important together.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on August 3, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, change, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: acceptance, appreciative inquiry, change, conflict, consensus, culture, education, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, government, Hilton Head Island, immigration, international, Joint Forces Quarterly, law, leadership, listening, management, marketing, Mick Mayers, Montgomery McFate, motivation, opportunity, personality, politics, relations, Rick Perry

Giving As Much As We Have

1 comment

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." – Arthur Ashe

The facts are not in yet from Asheville, yet I can say this with certainty. A man, just like any of us, woke up the other morning and got ready to go to work. He probably went through his morning routine like we all do, kissed the wife and kids, drove to work, and reported in. He likely threw his gear on the rig and checked out his equipment, without a thought that in a few hours he would be gone.

As the Bible says, we do not know the day nor the hour. We need to prepare as if every day were the day. But our choice to serve isn't for the money or the fame or the worship as heroes. We know these things aren't the reason we do the job. And as Chief Croker said, the greatest act of heroism is when we don that badge; after that, it is what we are expected to do. Hopefully we are never called to sacrifice our lives in the line of duty, but God fobid, if that event occurs, we should make that sacrifice only to save another.

Continue to reach out to these folks and to the families and friends of our other departed brethren and keep them in your prayers.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 30, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, News • Tagged: death, EMS, FHZ, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, leadership, lessons, LODD, management, Mick Mayers

Stopping the Loss

No comments

I stopped at an article on NPR.com to see if the article on "An Unrepentant Charlie Sheen" would bear fruit, in regard to a fresh idea. While his behavior has become like watching a train wreck in progress, I think there are lessons to learn from the leadership side of things, especially in dealing with difficult employees.

Lo and behold, a quote from the author, Linda Holmes, describing the actions of the management team for Two and A Half Men. From the article: "They [the management team] voluntarily ripped a key piece of machinery out of one of the most successful money factories on television. Things actually got that bad."

That's not "#winning" folks. That's stopping the hemorrhage. At what point in your wildly successful organization does the presence of a key individual become so dysfunctional that you just have to say, "Enough"? Conversely, I know people who say they would work for any psychopath Chief if the money were right. But there comes a time when a line must be drawn, as has allegedly occurred in Weirton, WV, according to a post by FireGeezer.com.

It's tragic that there are people who are "in charge" who exhibit this kind of behavior. While this individual may have some other issues we don't know about yet, I know of ex-chiefs of departments who have fought employees, threatened them, or just acted like total sociopaths. I know business "leaders" who act similarly to their employees. Years ago, I had the opportunity to work for one of those psychopaths I refer to and frankly, I took the inconsistent, hypercritical, hypocritical direction for a period of time, then ultimately, parted ways. I have always been considered a pretty decent employee, if I say so myself, but this guy made no sense to me whatsoever and I knew I could do a better job for someone who was a little more balanced. So I left. Ultimately, so did he, but that's a story for another time.

I tell you all the time about leadership and mentoring. I am positive that even as a buck recruit you can influence and impress others where you can in fact, be considered a leader through positive contributions. But there are just some people who happen to rise to power and are either corrupted on the way, or didn't have a good sense of values to begin with, who should simply not be in a leadership position.

And forgive me for saying so, but there are people who may have all the right intentions, but simply don't have the chops: they may lack command presence, or conversely, may be too overbearing. But I can work with someone if they are pointed in the right direction and are willing to allow me to help them go in that direction. But if we are diametrically opposed in our vision and our values, someone is going to have to change or go. Unfortunately, in some cases, it might be the forces on the side of "good" having to leave because they can not positively influence the direction the organization is going in. And no amount of money, fame, or awards will change that.

When you have just started out somewhere, it may be immediately apparent that this isn't the place for you and cutting your losses can be a little easier. But aside from the investment you have made in an organization, when you have been in the business long enough that you have built up some chips and got your resume positioned correctly, it makes the decision tougher because you really do believe you can turn things around, if you happen to get the chance.

Successful warriors are so because they choose their battles wisely. They seek advantage in terrain, timing, and resources. They attack when they see weakness and they withdraw when they sense resistance. Just as a skilled butcher doesn't chop through the bones lest he damage his knife, he finds the joints and cuts through those at the weakest points, making the job easier and extending the life of his blade. So should we seek our opportunities to advance and withdraw, to put forth ideas to improve the service we provide, or back off until the timing is right, or we have the right analysis of our idea, or we have the resources to fund the concept. But when those elements aren't ever made available, a decision has to be made.

As I asked earlier, at what point in your wildly successful organization do things become so dysfunctional that you just have to say, "Enough"?

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 21, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: anger, article, CBS, change, Charlie Sheen, chief, Chuck Lorre, conflict, consideration, customer service, education, empathy, EMS, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, idiot, inconsiderate, inconsistent, leadership, Linda Holmes, Lionsgate, management, marketing, Mick Mayers, moron, motivation, NPR, officer, opportunity, politics, professionalism, risk reduction, South Carolina, Training, Two and A Half Men, understanding, winning

It Is So Smoky That…

No comments

This has certainly been a summer of smoke. While the Western and Southwestern parts of our nation seem to always have a number of big wildland fires going on, I don't know for sure what their lingering smoke issues might be. Here in the Southeast, the smoke from smoldering fires in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina seems to settle in overnight then disappear when the wind shifts.

It is so smoky that:

Upon arrival at a cardiac call the other day, the first arriving company announced "smoke showing".
The osprey have found that they enjoy the taste of smoked fish.
My children have learned how to blow smoke rings.
We can do smoke drills in the bay; just need to open up the bay doors.
Mowing the lawn constitutes work in the IDLH and requires two-in two-out.
I had a crew exit a working fire and had to re-don their SCBA to go into REHAB.

It could be worse: it could smell like Jakarta. But the good news is that this is NOT auto exhaust and smog, or the smell of burning garbage, or even better, roast tire. So if you have your own observation, feel free to share. Otherwise, have a great day and thanks for reading. Pass it on.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 11, 2011 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, humor • Tagged: brush, brushfire, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, Florida, Georgia, Hilton Head Island, humor, map, Mick Mayers, NOAA, North Carolina, smoke, South Carolina, vacation, weather, wildfire, wildland fire

Zen Zone #2

No comments

Professionalism begins at using our skills, abilities and past experience to improve service quality and to provide excellent service not just to the taxpayers, but to our colleagues. If you don't like the thought of referring to these others as customers, that's okay. Just think of them as human beings who need your help, because really, that's exactly what they are. How you label them is your choice.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 9, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, professionalism • Tagged: Command & Leadership, conflict, customer service, education, EMS, EMS Topics, FHZ, fire rescue topics, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, leadership, management, Mick Mayers, motivation, opportunity, police, politics, poor leaders, professionalism, resources, South Carolina, thought, Training, Training & Development change, vision

Thought For The Day

No comments

A poor leader is like a parked police car with nobody in it. There is hope that the presence of authority will solve the challenges, but the reality is that it is simply a placeholder for real leadership.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 8, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: change, conflict, customer service, education, EMS, FHZ, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, leadership, management, Mick Mayers, motivation, opportunity, police, politics, poor leaders, professionalism, resources, South Carolina, thought, Training, vision

The Prankster As Leader – It Doesn’t Work

1 comment

As a follow up to some issues I discussed on my last post, I submit to you this case study: I have never called our Dispatch to have anyone sent to a false alarm. Years ago, however, I was prompted about the crew on one of our medic units at another station complaining all day about being the next on rotation for any out-of-town transports. When I called the station to ask a question on another matter, the officer asked me to call back and inform the medic crew that one of these transports were getting ready to go. Ultimately, when the prank was revealed, everyone had a good laugh.

A few shifts later, we did end up with one of these transports and the same crew was back on rotation. I called the station to let the crew know what was going on. I hung up from that and went back to my computer. After a few minutes, I still hadn't heard the medic unit check in on the radio. When I called the station to find out what was going on, I'll bet you know what the answer was. That day I learned a lesson the hard way. The lesson: Don't give someone an order and then, when something unusual comes up, expect your orders to be followed without question.

Individuals who become supervisors, and subsequently leaders, must understand that when they play pranks like that, the result is that people don't see you as credible. I do have examples of officers who have been able to be pranksters and be credible, but they are VERY far and few between. In retrospect, a friend and colleague who I consider one of the best officers I have ever worked with was one of those. But my observation is that he had the ability to pull off pranks that didn't require his active involvement. And while never calling attention to his ability to pull a fast one, he wasn't the class clown either.

Conversely, there are those who when they pull off the joke, they have to be in the middle of it. This obviously detracts from their respectability. They are not seen as credible. The crew just sees them as an extension of themselves, with some added paperwork responsibilities. When it comes to playtime, these characters are right there in the mix, setting someone up for a "bunny tail", throwing someone else's car keys into a bowl of water bound for the freezer, or throwing a bucket of cold water over top of the shower door on some unsuspecting boot. And what's even worse is that when the officer engages in this behavior, it also means that to be a good sport, you must be okay with being the mark in some of the practical jokes. Otherwise, the argument is that you can dish it out, but can't take it, and depending on how you react, you may very well end up looking foolish, which certainly isn't going to do anything for your respect.

There are ways to not be a prankster and not be seen as a tight-ass either. We have a long standing "tradition" of wetting individuals with ice cold buckets of water when they get promoted. The day I got the official letter, I overheard some of the crew debating the wisdom of wetting me, since I don't engage in that nonsense. But when all the work was done that day, I finished up a report, walked out into the kitchen and said, "Okay, if you're going to do this, let's do it and get it over with."

Each of the other six guys at Station 6 that day got a shot at pouring ice water on a newly minted chief officer (see the picture). I'll admit it was cold and that it took my breath away. But I sat there and when they exhausted their last bucket and they were all standing around, I shook the ice off my shirt and stood up. I then asked, "You guys done?" They all acknowledged that they were, I simply said "Thank You", went inside to my rack and changed into a dry uniform. Then I went back to my office to finish up my evening reports with a smile and a business as usual attitude.

Likewise, if you have that kind of attitude and someone does take a chance to pull one over on you, the best bet is to maintain a sense of humor about it, but remind the entire crew that it isn't smart to prank the chief. I've said something like, "Are you sure turning the heater on high in the chief's car is a good career move?", which gets some light laughter, but everyone gets the point. Later you can take the individual aside and actually use it to discuss this very same lesson here with them, so that perhaps they learn from it for when they become an officer.

When you are a leader, it requires you to not take yourself too seriously. But if you are busy dreaming up new practical jokes rather than dreaming up new training scenarios, the likelihood that you will be given the respect you desire as an officer is going to be slim. Officers who engage in practical joking with their subordinates are only asking for reciprocation; the biggest downside is that reaction may come at the time you least want it to. Best to leave the funny stuff to the kids and stick to being the responsible adult.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 5, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, News, Training & Development • Tagged: backlash, bravery, career, change, clown, Command & Leadership, conflict, customer service, economy, education, EMS, EMS Topics, FHZ, fire rescue topics, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firegeezer, Firehouse Zen, fun, Funding & Staffing, government, Hilton Head Island, leadership, management, marketing, media, Mick Mayers, motivation, news, officer, opportunity, planning, politics, professionalism, public trust, resources, risk reduction, South Carolina, Training & Development, vision, volunteer, voter

Grow Up

1 comment

Let me begin by saying, I am the number one fan of Animal House. I would never do anything to disparage the film or any of its characters. And I am not being Dean Wormer here. But it's time to put that little part of our lives behind us for a moment, although it is a part of me I can never quite leave behind. So here's a little test.

Consider the events in Holyoke, MA over the past week or so. If the action you are about to take would cause undue embarrassment to you or your organization, or your family and loved ones, would you still do it? If your action was the cause of something that makes the front page, or the national news, and it's not something you are proud of, would you do it? If the action you are about to take would invoke criminal or civil penalties against you, would you still do it?

What happened here was a very innocent practical joke on the part of an interim chief. I feel badly for him and I really don't believe this chief to be an idiot (as some have stated) or a criminal (as others have), or even a bad guy. I don't even know the man. But what he did, especially in the anti-public servant climate within which we are currently suffering, was not exercising good judgment.

There is nothing about this incident that suggests that anything happened here other than an attempt at a little levity, albeit at the expense of violating the laws about calling in false alarms. Am I judging the man or his actions? No. I don't know all the facts, although they seem pretty apparent on their face. Do I understand the mentality? Yes. I have moved a fire engine parked at the supermarket to the other side of the parking lot along with a few other practical jokes. But the next blog post will be all about THAT angle regarding leadership, so stay tuned. I don't believe anything other than that this was a practical joke gone wrong.

But in light of this incident, maybe instead of testing someone's physical fitness, their aptitude for reading a sentence, or the many other things we should be testing and aren't, maybe we should put at the top of the priority list, a test for maturity. Because other than the only test that seems to be important in some departments these days – that would be the ability to fog a mirror – we insist on knowing all these important things about how much someone can lift, or how fast they can run stairs, or how fast can they calculate 2+2 and we miss out on what seems to be the heart of our industry's problem. If you haven't picked up on it, that would be a test for whether or not the individual we are about to hire or promote is capable of objectively separating their inner teenager from the responsibilities of adulthood.

Again, lest you think this is all about pranksterism, there are actually many examples of where a certain level of maturity is important, and why it's not a good idea to have people associate with us that think it is okay to video someone lighting fireworks out of your ass. The public perception these days is swinging toward the "bunch of overgrown kids pretending to be important" side and away from the "upstanding citizen who is here to keep us safe" side. While some of our colleagues might not see that as being important, the public, when choosing to spend their hard earned dollars, are really not interested in sending money in the direction of waste and frivolous behavior. They want to be reassured that the individuals to whom they are entrusting their tax dollars are responsible, thoughtful, and perceptive. People who are making the news wire for setting fires, calling in prank false alarms, stealing from treasuries, and any other number of violations of society, are NOT considered as being responsible, thoughtful or perceptive. In fact, if this is news to you, haven't you probably ALSO been the ones complaining because the public doesn't love you anymore? Acting like you are still a member of Delta Tau Chi is not okay when you pin bugles on your collar (and I am the number one Animal House fan, remember?) Sophomoric behavior is best left to sophomores.

There are a number of us who are frustrated with the eroding public trust that comes about when certain participants in our field act like a bunch of day care refugees. The failure for some to consider the ripple effect their actions have on others is incredible. We are in a real struggle to define the fire and emergency services. There are daily reports of communities downsizing departments, "renting" them out (that would be privatizing them), or simply reallocating funds that would have been spent on fire and emergency services to other competing interests. We are at war here for our very existence, and every negative report is used against us, implicitly or not, to give rationale as to why we (fire and emergency services) shouldn't get the support we need.

There is no need to comment that I'm sucking the fun out of the job. Right now, we need to be working harder than ever to save our standing in the community, be it as a career or volunteer professional. We definitely don't need our own people shooting our efforts in the feet. Fun is when we can come out of a good worker safely, with a smile on our face because we did a good job; or high-fiving in the nurse's lounge because we just pulled an asystolic patient out of their nose-dive and they are sitting up talking in Bed 2. Fun is when we are on the training ground joking around with each other while resting after a particularly challenging evolution.

Grow up. Fun doesn't come unless you earn it. It's not fun being a loser. You can have fun all day long, but in the end, if you haven't accomplished anything, you're just one more clown among many. When you are truly professional, you can work hard and have fun at it too.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on July 2, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Funding & Staffing, leadership, News, Training & Development, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus • Tagged: animal house, backlash, bravery, career, change, clown, conflict, customer service, economy, education, EMS, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firegeezer, Firehouse Zen, fun, government, Hilton Head Island, hypocrisy, leadership, loser, management, marketing, media, Mick Mayers, motivation, officer, opportunity, planning, politics, professionalism, public trust, resources, risk reduction, South Carolina, virtue, vision, volunteer, voter

You Can Quote Me On That (Before 2010)

5 comments

I was driving down the road the other day and thinking, you know, I too could have a list of quotes, just like the real writers have. So in the interest of filling up a page of useless knowledge, I went back to FHZ from September of 2008 to December of 2009 and I also threw in a few notable statements I made way back on the old Firehouse Forums as a member of the IACOJ, before some of you were born, I think.

Now, I do read a lot and listen to podcasts, etc. and I will check my quotes with a deep internet search to make sure I haven't stolen someone else's ideas, but I'm pretty sure I said this stuff at one time or another. I also left off anything I paraphrased (I hope) and added some stuff that exists in unpublished posts (there are a few dozen of those). Believe it or not, we here at FHZ have standards. They are low, but we do have standards.

So here you are, from the beginning of FHZ, some of the more memorable ones:

"When I give you an order, I want to see it done, or your dead body where you died trying to do it."
"Never eat more than your mask can hold."
"I am not your friend, I am your boss. If you want to be friends, that's okay, but that doesn't change the fact that I am your boss first."
"The company officer is the designated adult supervision in the station. Act like it."
"There won't be a group hug at the end of this. I don't do Kumbaya."
"When I call for a resource I'm gonna give you type and kind. If I call for a Lincoln-ful of Panamanians, I don't care where you got it, just give me the closest one."
"Let's put this in terms you can understand: Confined space rescue is nothing more than HAZMAT on a rope."
"Being a truckie requires resourcefulness. You are presented with a problem no one else knows how to fix and you fix it with what you brought to the party or what you can swipe. After that, it's all magic."
"Individuals have given themselves the freedom to make poor decisions, then be let off the hook because we 'shouldn't judge them', or because their mommy didn't hug them as a child, or whatever the victim story is this week." (Okay, I just used that one again the other day).
"The base cause of indignity is usually the result of inconsiderate behavior." (Oh, and that one is new. But I liked it).
"Conflict in life is inevitable. Conflict escalation and intractability is not." (Alright, that one is new as well. Back to the old stuff).
"There's enough ugly going on around us right now without our own people bringing it down on us."
"Each of us should be serving as a positive example of how to do the job, volunteer or career, and without acting like a bunch of amateurs and whackers."
"The important part in our lives, really, isn't necessarily what we can fill up our minds with at every moment, but about creating space to let more in."
"There are a few things that you should raise the stakes for, like your faith, your family, and your country. But when faced with an unwinnable scenario and a profound lack of resources, sometimes it is best to save what you can save and live to fight on another day."
"Where t = tempo, r = resources and f = frustration: increasing t multiplied by decreasing r = exponential increase in f."
"The taxpayers in your community ultimately decide what level of service they want. If they are insistent that giving you no resources is okay, then they have to be educated to what extent that investment will reap disaster. Risk is proportionate to return."
"There are other sides to every argument that get squashed by the rush of the ADD crowd to comment. Don't fall into the trap of the unenlightened. Think before you post."
"I can think of no rational society that thinks it is okay to screw the disadvantaged for the benefit of the privileged. Taking advantage of the less fortunate is simply bullying."
"When we use the phrase 'customer service", if that's not appealing to you, try saying it like this: 'doing what is right for our neighbors and the people who visit and work in our community'. That should be a little more pleasant."
"Successful coaches match schemes to personnel, not vice-versa."
"If you are going to successfully implement change in your organizational culture, there should be a reluctance to be where you were and a desire to get where you are going."
"I'm pretty sure that when my ticket , I'm not going to be quoted saying something profound, poetic, or heroic. It is likely going to be something that can't be repeated around children or the faint-hearted."
"If we really want our industry to recognized as professional, it requires consistent conduct that is professional."
'Legitimate power, in the sense of leading others, is limited to the amount of leverage the followers will permit."
"Tansformative leadership requires commitment, honesty to self, and an understanding of the world. It's yours if you can embrace change, open yourself up to it, and set the example to others."
"Our business is too dangerous to leave the teaching to amateurs."
"Perhaps if you guys are going to fight fire like you are in the '70's, you should be paid like we were then too."
"If as a team, you can't agree on the destination, someone needs to get out of the car. Ultimately, getting to the destination requires assessment, negotiation, understanding, cooperation, and ends with commitment."
"More often than I care to, my 'command presence' comes out at inopportune times, like when I am talking to my wife (she doesn't like it), my kids (they're not crazy about it either), or my colleagues (they probably think I'm insufferable anyway)."
"If you fail to illustrate a clear picture of who is in charge, someone else will come in and fill that drawing in for you."
"Sometimes the best we can do is to pin it down to the neighborhood of origin, if that's what was burning when we got there."

Since at some point perhaps I'll add another page of these for the next years, if one of the sentences I uttered strikes a chord with you, point it out to me and I'll add it. I'm all about customer service. Until next time, thanks for reading.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on June 29, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, change, Command & Leadership, customer service, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, Firefighter Safety & Health, Fires, Funding & Staffing, leadership, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, motivation, officership, planning, politics, rebellion, Rescues, revolution, Special Operations, Training & Development • Tagged: change, conflict, credentialing, customer service, disaster, economy, education, EMS, FEMA, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Forums, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, IACOJ, incident command, incident management, kind, management, marketing, media, Mick Mayers, motivation, NIMS, officer, opportunity, politics, professionalism, quotes, resources, risk reduction, safety, South Carolina, team, Training, type, vision

The Antidote To Road Rage

1 comment

Being a reader of FHZ requires you to maintain an open mind. Even if you don't agree with both sides of the issues here, understanding the contrary view permits perspective and in some cases, deeper understanding of the root causes of things we consider trouble. For an example, consider the recent road rage incident that seems to have piqued a considerable amount of interest. While I in no way sanction what was done, nor think it was a mature or acceptable way to handle the situation, realize that in many cases, feelings of frustration manifest themselves in angry, retaliatory behavior.

Who among us has not experienced anger at the inconsiderate moron who fails to pull to the right when we are well behind them, permitting us a free lane on the way to some emergency? Even in your personal automobile, how about the idiot who not only signals they are going to take a right turn, but then shoots across to two lanes of traffic to make a left? Like he couldn't just make the wrong turn, make a u-turn, and make things right?

Individuals have given themselves the freedom to make poor decisions, then be let off the hook because we shouldn't "judge" them, or because their mommy didn't hug them as a child, or whatever victim story they happen to choose this week. The reality is that while reacting negatively to those who act in error is not acceptable, neither is the act that sparked the reaction in the first place. Perhaps if our nation's law enforcement would start hauling off people who run red lights; who make erratic and unanticipated turns without use of a signal; those who drive too slowly in the passing lane, who fly down the shoulder to cut to the head of a merging line, or those who fail to pull to the right when an emergency vehicle is asking for the right of way, perhaps you might see a considerable decrease in road rage.

The base cause of indignity is usually the result of inconsiderate behavior. Someone flaunts the rules and disregards the normal values of society, and the enraged individual is angry at the injustice of the situation. I would be willing to bet that if anyone could write a ticket (not that I am an advocate of that), you'd see a lot less road rage.

Why? Because if there were a non-violent method of resolving the conflict, I would be willing to bet that people would take that option. The problem is that there is no resolution. The enraged individual feels as if there is no way the situation will be resolved, they feel the injustice of the situation, and they act out in frustration, sometimes regardless of the consequences.

Now let's take this a step further. Think of a non-driving situation in which you were pushed to the edge…Was this reaction a result of powerlessness, of frustration evolved from conflict in which you were victimized and felt no method to resolve your issue? Perhaps it was an automatron manning the phone at your credit card company, or the cashier at Wally World, or the cable guy who doesn't show up when he says he will. You percieve a lack of power to change the situation and that lack of control becomes overwhelming. Over time, you may even be willing to act on it, in such a possibility, even inappropriately.

So what is the solution for our version of road rage? Education? Humorous attempts to enlighten the inconsiderate sometimes work, as in this fine example from the Tuscaloosa Fire Department. Other attempts like this one from Eugene, Oregon and this one from an agency I can't read on their final slide aren't as memorable (IMHO) but still get the message across.

But the more in-depth solution would be for individuals to maintain less distrations in their vehicles (phones, texting, and radios come to mind), and more overall awareness (simply paying attention to the fact that you SHARE the road with others). And likewise, the way for you to avoid conflict that cascades into an intractable situation would be to step back for a second and understand the other person's perspective, and recognize that your escalation of the incident, although it may very well be warranted, is pushing you and the other party toward a battle that someone is going to lose.

Conflict in life is inevitable. Conflict escalation and intractability is not. Be one of the first on your block to be the voice of sanity and work to understand, not to react.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on June 26, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, change, Command & Leadership, customer service, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Nation, leadership, Media Relations, motivation, politics, professionalism, rebellion, safety, Training & Development, Vehicle Operation & Ambulances, Videos • Tagged: anger, change, conflict, consideration, customer service, Dave Statter, driving, education, empathy, EMS, eugene, FHZ, finger, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, go right, government, Hilton Head Island, idiot, inconsiderate, leadership, management, marketing, Mick Mayers, moron, motivation, officer, opportunity, politics, professionalism, red lights, risk reduction, road rage, safety, South Carolina, STAT911, tips, Training, tuscaloosa, understanding

How Can You Know What Is “Better”?

1 comment

One of the best parts about my job is the view. On "A" shift mornings, I leave my home and drive to Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue's Station 7 where the Line Battalion Chief's office is located. Since I live near the beach, I actually head to work opposite the commuter traffic, but at that time, traffic is still pretty light. My route takes me over the Cross Island Bridge traversing Broad Creek, a long, wide tidal creek and pristine salt marsh that comes within a 100 yards of splitting the Island in two.

At a little after 0600 most of the year, the sun is coming up in the East over Broad Creek at the exact same time as I cross the bridge. The result is a collection of some of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen. Almost every morning, the view is a little different in the sky, but with the lighting of the tidal marsh on that angle, as well as a marina and some other landmarks, it is a glorious sight.

One morning as I crossed the bridge, a car was stopped on the bike lane, the driver taking a picture. While this is pretty common, I remember the sunrise wasn't the most spectactular I had seen in a while and I thought, "Wow. He thinks that's a great sunrise and it's probably one of the least amazing of the year."

But in thinking about that idea, it occurred to me that while I got to see this great sunrise almost every morning, I knew that this wasn't a "keeper". For this poor guy it was one of the highlights of his trip, but because he might have been from somewhere that doesn't have these kinds of views, or for any number of reasons, he didn't know what he was missing.

Your own organization can be much the same way. You could be "the best". Your department could be a shining example of excellence in your area. But really, how do you know if you are doing anything significant, or innovative, or even RIGHT if you don't benchmark against other comparable organizations?

But similarly, what if you are choosing the wrong benchmarks? There are more than a few methods to measure your organization that can give you the snapshot you need for continual improvement. And there are those who provide no meaningful yardstick to measure against, especially since some of them have been used to prop up organizations who can meet their "standards" yet fail to achieve even the slightest dent in what is considered a modern emergency service organization.

When someone inquires about accreditation and wonders what an organization can possibly gain from such recognition, in many cases, it is not necessarily the acknowledgement of having met those standards, but the effort the people of the organization make in getting there. Members of an accredited organization that participate in the process find that they understand the strengths as well as the weaknesses of their organization much better than those who do not. The knowledge aquired about the organization isn't the most important benefit, though. More important is the process of examining the facets of running the department and understanding how each part is integral to the workings of the whole.

The challenge of seeking the perfect sunrise requires research to know when and where to find it. A little experimentation is necessary to see that sunrise from different vantage points and to understand the desired qualities. Some luck helps in that sometimes the solutions fall right into our laps and we just happen to be in the right place at the right time. But ultimately, we can't just look at one sunrise and say, "That's the best one", unless of course, it's the only one you ever see.

Stretch a little. Go out and see what you can see. Ask questions and open your mind. Learn and understand the nature of quality and how it presents itself in the efforts you make. And when you have seen more, you can see that your way might not be the only way, and likewise, someone else might see what you see and they might be enlightened as well.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on June 18, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, change, education, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership • Tagged: accreditation, broad creek, CFAI, change, conflict, credentialing, Cross Island, customer service, education, EMS, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, ISO, leadership, management, marketing, Mick Mayers, motivation, officer, open minded, opportunity, organization, planning, politics, professionalism, research, resources, South Carolina, standards, sunrise, team, understanding, vision

Scary Rhetoric and Hypocrisy

1 comment

I can't imagine that there are much louder events than the crashing noise a meteor makes when it is hitting a planetary object. To look at a crater made by a meteoric impact leads me to assume it is a horrible train wreck of an event. So when the high and mighty go to ground, the noise seems to be equally stunning, especially if you believe in the individual beforehand.

People love to hate hypocrites. When a person or a group allows their reputation to be portrayed as one of honor and good, and then that trust is betrayed, then their actions can be seen as patently hypocritical. Those are the people who do things like run on a platform of family values, only to be shacking up in South America on taxpayer funds. Or doggedly pursuing impeachment of a President for being adulterous while engaging in their own adulterous affair. Or the religious who rail about the wrongs of homosexuality, only to be having a few of those relationships on their own. One of my least favorite college football coaches, who has led under the premise of being forthright and wholesome after his claims that he knew nothing; Well, maybe he knew a little more than nothing. And of course, there is this Weiner saga that continues to keep playing.

Since the firefighter is held to be an example of virtue, bravery, and service in the name of the community good, when one of us fails, we can expect it to get serious play. And in this day and age where so many people are looking for heroes, when we get it wrong, we get it wrong in a big way. The backlash continues to flow as it seems like from one day to the next, one or more of our own pulls a new rabbit out of the hat and ends up with their mug shot splashed across the front page.

I also like to read the comments in the stories as Statter and Firegeezer where a number of our brethren sanctimoniously proclaim the fallen as garbage and a disgrace to the uniform. But really, here's where it really gets ugly. Check out the comments on this article from the Las Vegas Sun. You can also check out the whole story there as well, but one look at the comments and you can see that the idea of the public singing our praises as "heroes" has been replaced by angry, bitter tirades against what we do not only while not running alarms, but even while providing our service. And I don't even know what it is that these guys may or may not have done to draw this kind of fire. I don't know that they did anything wrong or they have just found themselves poorly positioned in the center of a taxpayer backlash against spending.

Just yesterday, my own organization happened to be fighting a decent sized brush fire in a residential area. With all of the coverage of the devastation in the Arizona wildfires you'd think citizens would be praising a fast, aggressive response; instead, at least one TV news report (not the one cited) pointed out the "inconvenience" of residents not being allowed to their homes until the fire was declared under control, and I corresponded and talked with a few people with very similar complaints. Fortunately, all of my interactions were positive and once explained, the individuals were at least a little more grateful. But what we have always taken for granted (that the citizens see us as positive, upstanding members of the community), has been replaced in many jurisdictions as our being selfish, lazy, and out-of-control.

There's enough ugly to go around right now without our own people bringing it down upon us. It is up to each and every one of us to weed out those who continue to give emergency service a bad name with their negative attitudes, their arrogant behavior, and their me-first mentalities. The good name and the "hero" portrait of emergency service, like it or not, came about because we put it on the line for our neighbors, we genuinely cared about our community and serving others, and because we were always seen as hard-working, blue collar people. When a firefighter said something, they shot straight, but it was said with concern and compassion. We have always been about getting the job done, no matter what, no matter how dirty or dangerous, but without bitching or complaining or pointing out each others' faults. This is not how we work today.

Let the politicians, TV preachers, Wall Street CEOs and the other scumbags be the hypocrites and punching bags. Each of us should be serving as a positive example of how to do this job, volunteer or career, and without acting like a bunch or amateurs and whackers. Man up (that includes our sister firefighters as well) and do the job, and while you need to educate the public in what we do and how they interact with us to provide a team approach, don't call attention to yourself for doing it. Just do the right thing and we'll all be fine.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on June 15, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, leadership, News, Wildland • Tagged: Arizona, backlash, bravery, change, conflict, customer service, Dave Statter, economy, education, EMS, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firegeezer, Firehouse Zen, government, Hilton Head Island, hypocrisy, Jim Tressel, Las Vegas Sun, leadership, management, marketing, media, Mick Mayers, motivation, Newt Gingrich, North Las Vegas, officer, opportunity, planning, politics, professionalism, risk reduction, Sanford, South Carolina, virtue, vision, voter, Weiner, wildfire

It’s Been Busy

4 comments

If you were wondering where I have been for almost a month, the title sums it up. I have sat down for a few minutes a few times but something distracting kept coming up. Priorities being what they are, unfortunately, this blog is fairly inconsequential in comparison to the other issues. But don't think that I wasn't thinking about it, often.

I'm trying to get re-organized and to get my feet going in the direction they are supposed to be pointed. But even my attempts to do that seem a little clumsy. But I did take the time over the last month to add some "me" time in and that seems to be working out, for at least a little bit of the day.

Today I went with the family to the beach. We have a guest staying with us for a week and when my wife asked me what I wanted to do today, I said that is what I wanted to do. You do have to understand, however, while we live within a very short walk from the beach and go there pretty much every weekend, it is not my normal choice. See, the whole thing about going to the beach means the herding of three young girls is involved, and getting them in swimsuits and slathered with sunscreen is about as easy as fishing with a volleyball net. Then there's the packing of the stuff, of which there is lots. And of course, we have to put on sunscreen as well, which I won't mince words about: I hate sunscreen. But as you can tell, I met with mild disbelief when I said it's what I wanted to do.

So while getting to the beach is almost a total inconvenience, being there is different. My wife likes to relax and tan, read a magazine, and try to sleep (I doubt she ever gets a chance). The girls have to categorize all the marine life, socialize with the tourist kids, build at least three big holes, eat (and for Honora, that is full-time), and beg me to do stuff I really don't want to do, but am reluctantly willing to do most of the time. I like to keep moving and the thing my brother-in-law got me hooked on is hunting for shark teeth.

And thus the lesson in this lengthy explanation of why I haven't been here. Today, when I found one of those elusive shark's teeth, I gave it to our guest as a souvenir. She was grateful, but asked if I didn't want it. While I keep a few of the teeth, I usually give them to my kids or if there's some child nearby who has never seen a shark's tooth, I'll give it to them. And today when I gave away the tooth I had just found, I realized why I liked looking for them.

It is literally the one time during my entire week when I am focused on something and have nothing else occupying my mind. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about work or wondering why my five-year old was battling the undertow, but those thoughts (well, I'm kidding about the undertow part) are really on the periphery. My phone is back up at the chair and there's really nothing to distract me other than my own thoughts.

Part of the art of searching, I have found, is that I discover more teeth when I stop looking and just see the teeth rather than to look for them. Sometimes it's the angle of the sun, or sometimes it is a certain color or the position of the tooth that strikes me as odd, but it isn't easy to find them and so going to the beach and finding two or three each trip is pretty rare, unless you are Uncle Michael, who is the world champion shark tooth finder, at least according to his brother in law and his nieces. I usually don't go away without finding at least one, but more than that is really pushing it.

But the whole state of mind is important. That is, we all need to find something that gives us pleasure, or at least allows our mind to go into neutral, in order to stay sane. When I was young, I worried when I wasn't thinking about something. Now, in what I consider to be a more enlightened moment in my life, I realize that it is more important to occasionally disengage from the world, to put all those concerns aside for a few moments, and to clear out the junk that accumulates in our heads from everything we deal with daily. The important part in our lives, really, isn't necessarily what we can fill up our minds with at every moment, but about creating space to let more in.

I have been struggling trying to find a special something to put in my blog, like the Weekly Weasel or the Microcoaching ideas. I spent a lot of time, a month almost, trying to figure that out. Then today I realized, it's not what Firehouse Zen is about. This blog wasn't meant to be work, it was meant to enlighten. Those who get it will come back and they'll bring their friends. Those who don't get it, won't. If you read what I say here and it strikes a chord, great. And if not, try again later, because maybe it will. But more importantly, I need to go back to insuring that what this blog is about isn't being the best or the most read or crammed with the most information. It needs to be about whatever that need is at that moment. And if you like it, share it and whatever will be, will be.

I promise to stop trying to live up to the daily grind and go back to doing what I do best. And if people like it, they'll be back. And that's about the best that anyone could ever want to be.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on June 12, 2011 • Filed under: change, Command & Leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, leadership • Tagged: change, conflict, FHZ, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, Hilton Head Island, leadership, management, Mick Mayers, motivation, opportunity, professionalism, risk reduction, South Carolina, vision

Complacency

4 comments

I have probably spoken before of complacency. Complacency is a subject that seems to surface repeatedly in our business, a business that requires constant vigilance. It strikes all of us at one point or another. The cure, sadly enough, seems to be getting stung. And in a further moment of unfortunate circumstance, on occasion the sting is accompanied by death, severe injury, or catastrophic loss.

And since we all understand that complacency in the fire service is a topic on which everyone is reminded to guard against, it happens routinely, and to the most unlikely of subjects. I myself have been shaken out of complacency, years ago, with a near miss, and vowed to never repeat it. But time after time, like water wearing away at a stone, repeated non-events lull us into the belief that the next one will just be one more in a long line of non-events. When the long shot pays off, it can be a doozy.

Just as we get complacent on alarms, the public sector fire service has become fat and happy in the belief that no one would dare upset our world by privatizing it, merging it, or re-sourcing it. We are firefighters! Everyone loves firefighters! No one would dare go against us. We are heroes, after all. Well, just read this article on FireRescue1.com. These issues, although we have been saying they were coming for years, are now upon us. If you don't believe it, look around. The public is sick of hearing about firefighters milking their pensions, taking questionable disability benefits, stealing from their organizations, and lighting fires. We are no longer pristine. We have permitted the scum bags to infiltrate our ranks. We are fair game.

Times are tough. People see us as having while they don't. If there is anything more energizing to the haters, it is the thought of "heroes" becoming the "anti-heroes". It is the foundation of expose and justice denied that calls for every Geraldo wannabe to man a video camera and find the next Watergate saga. If there is something delicious about failure, it is much more tasty when the shock of failure is accompanied by the role a trusted individual has in creating it.

Change is near on the horizon and while there are those of us shouting it from the rafters, it seems like there are many who continue to ignore the warnings. What you believe to be true today may very well be heresy tomorrow. If you fail to evolve, to get your stakeholders involved in your mission, or to understand the changing tide of support, you may well be clinging to the remains of what used to be while the rest go sailing down the road.

Just as we preach to our new firefighters that complacency kills, so should the vested leadership of our collective organizations be warned: complacency will be the demise of what you currently hold dear. You can appreciate change and master it, or let it master you. One way or another, it is on the way.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on May 19, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, Funding & Staffing, News • Tagged: change, complacent, conflict, customer service, economy, EMS, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, FireRescue1.com, government, Hilton Head Island, Jamie Thompson, leadership, management, marketing, Mick Mayers, motivation, near miss, opportunity, planning, politics, privatization, professionalism, resources, South Carolina, vigilance, vision

New Section: “Microcoaching”

No comments

While sifting through some paperwork and wondering why one of my subordinates was struggling with a certain aspect of his job, it came to me that while this individual was very competent in some areas, he needed help in others. It certainly wasn’t an issue of overall competency, just a need to polish some rough edges. So I began to send out subtle messages in my daily briefings in the hopes that he would begin to get the idea through his own discovery, and by doing so, achieving more buy-in.

Over the last three years these have evolved into a daily lesson for everyone on my shift, and those same lessons have been requested by some of the personnel on the other shifts as well. I have even incorporated some of those briefings into my blogs, or vice-versa, pointed people to Firehouse Zen for more in-depth discussion on the subject matter, as well as inserting links to some of the other sites here on the FireEMSBlogs family as they fit the message.

“Microcoaching” was a term that came to me out of the blue. I had never seen or heard the term used before, but since it sounded almost too good of a word to have not been used before somewhere, I figured I’d better make sure I wasn’t stealing someone else’s work. Of course, a quick Google search turned up a few references to the word, but no definitive source as to “the” definition, so I am going to capture it for my own use, and claim it as a term I will use for myself, but I can’t say that I was the first one to throw it out there.

I intend to throw out a few experimental articles that hopefully will cause you to reflect a little more on the item, that involve perhaps a picture and some thought provoking questions. In doing so, I’d like to get some more feedback on whether you like the concept or what I can do to improve on it. As always with Firehouse Zen, most of the learning won’t come from the end result, but the journey there. But I offer these to you for your own use, the source credited, of course, but free for your use in mentoring and coaching your own personnel. And in keeping with the “micro” part of the term, they’ll be short.

And for disclosure’s sake, I like to take pictures of my department, but for educational purposes, I will be using them often in a completely different context in which they were taken, and the individuals in the pictures may or may not even be involved in a situation that reflects the scenario. So don’t automatically infer that the picture is ACTUALLY the scenario, it just is being used to underscore a point or to provide something to reflect on. So let’s get started:

Scenario: You are a battalion chief supervising a shift of four stations. On a relatively frequent basis, you get to actually be out on the drillground teaching the crews, but the training responsibilities almost all fall on the company officers. One of your officers, however, conducts almost no training. He has his personnel attend the formal training classes, but in and around the station, if any non-assigned training occurs, it is entirely because of the initiative of the personnel he supervises. Therefore, while his crew may meet the minimum standards for training, they aren’t really getting any of their education from him.

In our Microcoaching sessions, we will be asking some standard questions that follow the format “SHOW ME”. We start with the “SHOW” part of the equation, or the analysis of the situation:

S – Subjective analysis: What is going on here?

H- History: How did we get to this point?

O- Observation/objective analysis: What are the causative factors? What underlying issues might be in play?

W- Wonder: What can we do to improve? Do we even have a problem? What are the good things we see? What are the lessons we can pull from the situation? What is the take from the subjects on the situation?

Then we follow up with the action part:

M- Mentor: How would we convey the lessons, get feedback and give feedback? How would we reinforce our expectations?

E- Evaluate: Has the desired change taken place? What signs can we point out that positive change is occurring? Have the lessons stuck? What can we do to make the changes permanent?

From here, I would imagine that you can just use this to ask your own questions of your personnel, or just reflect on the answers, or if you'd like some feedback or to share, feel free to comment. Otherwise, stay safe and hope you enjoy this new section.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on May 3, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, leadership, Training & Development • Tagged: analysis, change, education, EMS, FHZ, fire service, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, Firehouse Zen, Google, Hilton Head Island, leadership, management, Mick Mayers, microcoach, microcoaching, motivation, officer, opportunity, professionalism, risk reduction, safety, SHOW ME, South Carolina, subordinate, Training, vision

We Try Harder

No comments

SC-TF1 Demobilizing From Chalmette, LA after Hurricane Katrina, 2005.

I had the opportunity to be part of a test rehearsal for a web conference going on Friday. In one of the questions, we were asked, “If you had to give your department a grade, what would it be?” I was the only one who gave my department an “A”. Of course, when you see that you have made a choice like that, you immediately begin to second-guess yourself.

I was pretty self-conscious about that decision, even though nobody knew who answered each question and nobody would have known it was me that graded us so. I actually thought about it long afterward, in an attempt to understand in my absolute certainty with 10 seconds on the clock, that we deserved the highest mark on a standard grade. It was, frankly, a little presumptuous of me.

The quick answer is that we don’t deserve an “A”. We are definitely customer oriented and we are definitely aggressive firefighters who use best practices and manage our risk appropriately. We are definitely on the leading edge of EMS delivery and while we are not THE organization by which all should be measured, many would be doing pretty well to do so.

But while we are definitely making huge strides and we have many accomplishments, we aren’t where we feel we should be. That is universally agreed upon in our organization. There is just too much to do, and while we are hitting the high priority items, there are so many things we want to do, and have begun doing, but there are only 24 hours in a day and finite resources otherwise at our disposal.

It is for the same reason, perhaps, that I should instead embrace the criticism of some in the knowledge that the minute we stop reassessing our service we become complacent. Don’t believe for a second that I don’t take the criticism personally, because although I shouldn’t, I do. Just as you know all the idiosyncrasies of your own children, you’d never stand for anyone else criticizing them. And, after 29 years of being part of the core individuals who pushed, pulled and shaped what is now known as our department, I have very little patience for the particular individuals who have come along since with a lot of criticism and no substantive contributions. My personal take on it, in fact, is that we have a list of people who would be happy to take their jobs.

Our line of reasoning, however, should be to embrace the constructive criticism that can be drawn from some of the comments. We should always perform self-critique, but self-critique is not self-immolation. We should always be pulling lessons from where we are and where we want to be, and the reason why we aren’t where we want to be. But this isn’t an effort to tell us what a bad job we are doing, but ways in which we need to improve.

The minute we begin to believe we are Number One in the county, the state, the region, or the nation, and we begin to believe we are “The Best”, we (all of us) tend to believe we can’t learn from others or from ourselves. It also demeans the rest of those who do an excellent job providing service with the resources they have in the community they must serve. Of all things, though, it’s pretty presumptuous again to suggest that we are the best at anything other than delivering the emergency services on Hilton Head Island, because really, that’s all that matters.

My own personal vision for our organization is to be one of those departments that others hold up to say, “This is the gold standard. This is how we want to be”. We continue to make leaps in that direction. We are, though, our own worst critics. We need to always be looking out for better ways to improve. Daily, we must try harder.

The effort must be placed on continual improvement. “Zero defects” is a pretty lofty goal, but in our business, zero defects may be the difference between life and death, between going home in the morning or going home in the hosebed of the rig under a pair of crossed aerials.

Never get complacent. Never believe you are the best, at least not for longer than it takes to get to the desired result, then to take a breath, look around, and say, “Where to from here?” The moment we stop, we die. We should always resolve to do better each time we are presented with a new challenge and to dig out whatever lessons we can observe from our current situation. There is no time to dwell on it, though. Digest it, make the adjustment, and move on.

Posted by Michael "Mick" Mayers on April 27, 2011 • Filed under: "accident prevention", administration-leadership, change, command, Command & Leadership, customer service, education, EMS Topics, Fire Rescue Topics, fire service, Firefighter Nation, Firefighter Safety & Health, firefighting, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, government, leadership, motivation, officership, planning, politics, professionalism, rebellion, rescue, revolution, technology, Technology & Communications, Training & Development • Tagged: 2005, accomplishments, aggressive, challenge, Chalmette, children, complacent, conflict, constructive, continual improvement, contributions, core, criticism, crossed aerials, customer oriented, customer service, emergency, EMS, FHZ, FireEMSBlogs, Firefighter Nation, firefighters, Firehouse Zen, gold standard, Hilton Head Island, idiosyncrasies, Katrina, leadership, leading edge, Louisiana, management, Mick Mayers, Number One, opportunity, professionalism, resources, risk reduction, safety, SC-TF1, self-critique, self-immolation, South Carolina, SUSAR, Training, US&R, USAR, web conference, Zero defects

Archives for fire-rescue-topics

+1 Firehouse Zen on Google+

Firehouse Zen - Brain food for Mongo.

About

Connect With Mick

Fire & EMS Blogroll

Fire & EMS Destinations

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Previous Rantings

Tags Across FireEMSBlogs.com

FireEMSBlogs.com Community

Featured from across Fire/EMS