Are You Personally & Professionally Developing, Part 2

October 9, 2023 In Part 1, I opened with a quote and a question from the Denver business coach Gary Barnes when he said, “99% of your current results are on purpose, either subconsciously or consciously.” Gary also asked, “Are you a participant or a spectator?” Incident action planning tools As a battalion chief, I…

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Are You Personally & Professionally Developing?

October 2, 2023 Part 1 In September, I attended a three-day Breakthrough Business Mastery bootcamp hosted by the Denver business coach Gary Barnes. On the first day he said, “99% of your current results are on purpose, either subconsciously or consciously.” Gary also asked, “Are you a participant or a spectator?” Fourth quarter of 2023…

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Do You Make Sound & Timely Decisions?

September 25, 2023 Nasty Chemicals In February of this year, a Norfolk Southern train transporting hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, creating a large haz mat event. Responding to and mitigating an incident like this requires constant decision making. Imagine you are responding to a train derailment involving two nasty chemicals: sulfur dioxide (toxic/corrosive…

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Remember 9/11

September 11, 2023 Patriot Day As I write this blog, I am wearing a t-shirt from the Los Angeles County Fire Museum. On the back side of the shirt at the top are the words “Patriot Day.” In the center is an image of Squad 51 from the NBC television show Emergency! Below the image…

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Did You Know That Weasels Can Climb Ladders?

September 5, 2023 Did You Know That Weasels Can Climb Ladders? My blog post for August 23rd was titled, Know Your Team & Look Out for Them1 and my blog for August 30th was titled, Are You Reinforcing Bad Behavior and Poor Performance?2 Both articles are related to taking care of the people who work…

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Are You Reinforcing Bad Behavior and Poor Performance?

August 28, 2023 Are You Reinforcing Bad Behavior and Poor Performance? My blog post for August 23, 2023, was Know Your Team and Look Out for Them.1 I addressed the fact that familiarity of your team members increases the: I also wrote about the advantages of knowing your team, which are: Supervisory fear As a…

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Are You Technically & Tactically Competent?

August 14, 2023 Are You Technically & Tactically Competent? Do you desire to be a successful company or chief officer? I hope your answer is yes and you are not taking up space in the station and rig waiting until retirement. Several factors come together to make a successful fire department officer. Among them are…

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