Warren Cersley's Blog – April 2016 Archive (5)

THE ARROGANCE LADDER

I once worked with a Battalion Chief who would jokingly thumb up his collar trumpets and say “I woke up one morning and there they were.” He always did this in a crowd and usually while looking at himself in a mirror. He would then walk away and leave the people wondering what the intended message was. Since the unwritten rule of that day was that a conversation with an Officer was always initiated…

WHITE FLAG LEADERSHIP

Leaders lead.

They make no excuses about their inheritance, the crews or the present climate and they do not lead with an attitude of fear and they surround themselves with great people.

Leaders don’t carry a white flag, they plan to win.

Many years ago, I printed off…

The Old Stuff

Someday, in the blink of an eye, it will be the time to look back and to reflect on what you did with your life.

If you were chosen to serve, did you serve others well or serve yourself? Did you realize, early on or too late, that serving well requires a few simple steps from each of us who are chosen?

Did you keep a run journal of each run, what you were sent for, what you saw, what you did and most importantly what you learned? Were you able to bring…

WHAT ARE WE REALLY GOOD AT?

I’m not big on meetings. I especially dislike meetings that accomplish nothing.

Maybe, just maybe, somewhere along the way I got hung up on the belief that the Fire Service was a problem solving organization made up of talented and trustworthy crews instead of a new initiative testing ground.…

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Sometimes officer behavior leads me to ask “What were you thinking?”

Someone recently replayed to a friend from another department the story about a “group motivational retreat” that I held in the rear yard after a fire. I prefer to call it moonlight post incident…