Mike "FossilMedic" Ward's page

Henry Mintzberg is not a fan of the “American” style of leadership.

In the July-August 2009 edition of Harvard Business Review, writing in Rebuilding Companies as Communities, Mintzberg asserts:

"They sat in their offices and announced the goals they want others to attain, instead of getting on the ground and helping improve performance. Executives did not know what was going on, and employees didn’t care what went on. What a monumental failure of leadership."… Continue

ED KAPLAN IS OBSESSED WITH FIREFIGHTER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

He is the architect of the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) initiative started 12 years ago at the National Fire Academy (click HERE for related article). He has encouraged, cajoled and conceptualized the concept of linking training with academic achievement and professional… Continue

We were about 2/3rds through our career when Eddie described his Idiot Replacement Theory (IRT). For every old-school idiot, jerk or loser who retired, our generation would provide an equally inept replacement. I was shocked when he originally made that statement and wondered if it still was true.

CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES

We were part of the hundreds hired thirty years ago as a collection of rural VFDs grew into an urban county fire department. Our first line supervisors were appoin… Continue

A COMMON WHINE FROM FIRE OFFICER CANDIDATES IS THAT FIREFIGHTERS ARE NOT POLITICIANS. A "real" firefighter is good of heart, focused on saving those endangered by fire and righteous in suppression skills. That is all that is needed.

Only in the movies ...

A STARK CONTRAST

Dave Statter posted a video showing Engine 848 (West Lanham Hills #2) arriving at a well-involved garage fire (… Continue

STUDY FAILS TO ESTABLISH LINK BETWEEN CANCER AND FIRE FIGHTING was the attention grabbing April 16 press release from the National League of Cities. The angry response from both the IAFF and IAFC was fueled by this statement:

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

“While we depend on firefighters for the critical role they… Continue