At the time of this post there were 87 LODD for 2009. A staggering number to consider if you realize that it is 27 FEWER than last year. Looking at these numbers reminded me that every year (about this time) someone asks the questions,” What can we do to reduce LODD?” or “What are we NOT doing to prevent LODD?”. Well, I am hoping that nothing catastrophic happens in the next two days and we can ask ourselves, “WHAT DID WE DO RIGHT?!”
This statement reminded me of a conversation that I was having with my respective bosses, Capt. Chris Garniewicz (my Truck Captain) and Lt. Richard Dollahan (my former Engine Lieutenant). While solving the Department’s problems (yeah, ours has them too!) we were wondering how we can motivate people to approach the job with the same passion and intensity that we do. HOW DO YOU TEACH SOMEONE TO “GET IT”?
We discussed all of the key topics such as mentoring, being “the thumb” and other brilliant theories. The conclusion that we collectively came to was that… YOU CAN’T!
Could it be as simple as, you either GET IT or you DON’T? Maybe it is.
However, we are optimists, so we reorganized our thoughts and that’s when we realized that the three of us were always the ones (respectfully) taking the time to intimately learn our equipment, asking questions in training and having this discussion.
So our new theory is that, if you GET IT, then maybe you need to GIVE IT to other people, even if it means holding their hand, breaking the ice or throwing them a piece of rope or tool in the dayroom and asking them questions about them.
Maybe the problem is that we get so deeply engaged in expanding our own knowledge, experience and brains, that we forget to include others who may be content hanging back.
Drag people into conversations and training and remember, that little nugget of knowledge may save their life or yours.
It’s not me… it’s you! I get it… and I’m gonna give you to you?
-Thanks and Be Safe-
