So, I’m assuming most of us in the emergency services world feel a little bit vindicated when we see a picture of a car, illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant, with a hose run through the smashed out windows. We have all seen a few either online, or in the news, or have even been on an […]

I happened to read Chief Matt Tobia’s piece on racism in the American fire service the other day (and you can read it here at FirefighterNation.com). The United States has a long and embarrassing history of discrimination.  This is not to say other nations have not, but given that the United States of America was […]

This is going to be an article about fire service funding, or the lack of it. If you are easily distracted, don’t read the title and start spouting off. There is ALWAYS more to the story than just your perspective.  Tragedy doesn’t begin to describe this situation, but in Saskatchewan a few days ago, two […]

I woke this morning for a third time, having gone back to sleep when the alarm rang (twice- it’s a holiday), then later taking a nap (third time). Feeling refreshed, I sat down to take care of the business end of Firehouse Zen: answering e-mails, checking the Twitter feed, etc.  I also decided a “first post” for […]

The sign in front of one of the churches was advertising that “Prophet John Doe” [name changed for obvious reasons] was going to be holding a revival.  I wondered: “What are the job requirements for being a prophet? ” I kind of liked the idea of having the title “Prophet” in front of my name.  I […]

Lately I have been considering the sad affairs of our world in regard to our tendency to create scapegoats for the things that go badly in our lives. I have thought a lot about diversity in any number of angles and again, it is tragic to me that today there are still those who lump […]

The useful part of a wheel is not the wheel or the spokes, but the hole where all the spokes meet. We have to look past the obvious and turn to the esoteric; despite what we see, it’s deeper than that. Logical solutions exist to every problem, but the emotional mind fights those solutions because they aren’t, […]

You simply can’t plan for everything.  We do try to make our scenes safer, but conditions change, or situations are presented where we can’t even imagine how they came to be.  How many people considered that individuals would try to bring down the World Trade Center, not once, but twice, succeeding in the end and […]

I got back from some opportunities I had taken and began to reflect on what I had learned.  Over a beer or two, I happened to have a conversation with a fire service leader about my blog and we were talking about different approaches and the like.  One of the things he said to me was […]

Recently I have undergone Lasik surgery to “enhance” my vision.  I’m very happy with the result, although there were some adjustments that had to be made.  Sight has always been an important sense to me.  As someone who trained as an graphic artist and photographer, as a writer, and in the things I enjoy doing, my […]

While at the eye doctor in Savannah the other day, I had an interesting experience.  I had to leave from work to go to my appointment, so I was in uniform.  While standing at the desk to check out, a woman almost directly behind me became faint.  She slumped into a chair as I turned […]

I happened to be able to enjoy a day listening and learning from Curt Varone this week, as he visited our department and we spoke about the ethics of leading. The discussion happened to tie in with some observations on communicating that I have made lately with my coursework.  Ethical principles should guide our business and […]

You may not be familiar with Dr. Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 article, Developmental Sequence in Small Groups, but you are probably aware of the end result: The “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing” model embraced by many as the cycle teams experience as they go from infancy to becoming high-performing assets.  This article left out a very […]

The new reality for leadership is that traditionally-run organizations, as they focus on control and rigidity, lose the ability to move fast and think on their feet, demotivating innovative and creative thinkers, and creating morale issues that are hard to shake.  Even the military recognized these issues as they evolved some teams into joint forces, realizing that […]

In doing some research for a paper, I was reading about the difference between effective managers and those who become sidelined before hitting their peak.  While it might seem obvious that it has a lot to do with the way in which they motivate and inspire their followers, I still see traditional methods of “leading” […]