David Bullard's Page

It seems in the fire service we cite numbers and statistics almost as much as the sport of baseball does. Often these numbers and statistics have relevance, sometimes they are skewed, and on occasion they may not be accurate. Making sense of all of this information can be confusing.

I am going to choose one statistic that should be sobering and is also pretty accurate. How many civilian fire deaths do you believe occur, on average, each year? Would you believe a little over 3,000? This… Continue

                As I sat at the hospital awaiting the birth of my daughter, a conversation that I had with a coworker in the previous days came to mind.  The conversation revolved around what are you doing do train your replacement.    Over the prior few days that conversation took my thought path is several directions.  

                First of all, the usual connotation of training your replacement is normally reserved for training those who are next in line to assume your job…

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As we grow as leaders we should realize that there are different types of leadership.   Among these is lassiez faire.   It may very well be the most difficult to master.   Aside from authoritative leadership or democratic leadership, it is more hands off.   When you have an efficient crew who performs well on most occasions, this can be the ideal form of leadership because it allows others to develop their leadership presence.  However, the fine line is drawn between lassiez faire and…

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As leaders, we must understand how to give power away and to reign it in, within boundaries.  Leaders who mentor those under them must relate this to the way that a race horse is trained.  We hire employees and recruit volunteers who are essentially thoroughbreds.  Strong, energetic, and have an enthusiasm for “running.” If were to buy a race horse, then you certainly wouldn’t be afraid to let it run.  Yet, as leaders we sometimes don’t recognize the fact that our thoroughbreds need to…

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