Billy Schmidt

Full list of Billy Schmidt results

• Eight Things to Do for Your Crew in 2008

  –

  With 2008 under way, it's time for us to reflect on the year past and to begin developing our plans for the future. Here are eight straightforward ideas that company officers can use right now to h...

• The Company Officer as a Coach

  –

  AP Photo/Darron CummingsFormer UCLA head coach John Wooden talks to a group of students and college players in Indianapolis in 2005. Company officers alone cannot, and should not, handle the detail...

• Clear the Path For Your Firefighters

  –

  What stands in the way of your firefighters doing their job? Take a moment and look at your fire department; its operations (policies and procedures),  training and facilities. Now look at you, the...

• Understanding What Motivates Our Firefighters

  –

  Firefighters are alike; firefighters are different. And understanding our firefighters — their similarities and differences — will enable us as company officers to better motivate them to be more p...

• Daily Briefings Build Trust in Teams

  –

  How much time do you spend with your crew each shift discussing your daily objectives? 10 minutes? 30 minutes? How and where is it discussed? Or do you even discuss it at all? Daily briefings allow...

• Constructive Conflict

  –

  When firefighters talk openly, developing ideas together, debating different perspectives and blending those views, they work better together. They work as a team. Because different ideas and opini...

• Speaking the Same Language

  –

  AP Photo/Mark ZimmermanAn Oklahoma City firefighter talks on his radio to report a hot spot during a grass fire in 2005. Communications is "the exchange of information." To communicate is "to make ...

• Action Needed to Achieve Results

  –

  The most important thing a leader can do is get results. Obviously, leaders do not get results by themselves — they get them by leading others. Leaders motivate others to get the results that their...

• We Can't Save Anyone If We Become Victims

  –

  Our first objective when we receive an emergency alarm is to get to the scene as safely and efficiently as possible. The fire engines, ladder trucks and ambulances of today are all larger and requi...

• Moving From Firefighter to Company Officer

  –

  So you've successfully completed the promotional process for company officer. Yesterday you were one of the crew, and now today you are their leader. Everyone is watching everything that you do and...

• Finding Positive Solutions

  –

  Problems happen all the time. And while our mission in the fire service is to "solve" other people's problems, we must also learn to find positive solutions to our own issues. As a company officer,...

• The Root to Improving Safety

  –

  "Near-miss reporting" and the company officer's attitude is the root to improving safety. With the advent of "near-miss reporting," the fire service has finally identified that actual accidents are...

• Company Officers Have Met the Challenge in '06

  –

  The fire service has been busy this year. Challenging events, both natural and man-made, continue to test our strength and abilities to operate efficiently at emergency scenes. The brutal facts are...

• Command Presence: Presentation is Everything

  –

  Command presence has been an essential component of organized firefighting in the United States for almost 300 years. Today, we face the same problems that our earlier counterparts faced before us:...

• Tradition class: Instilling the right attitudes and abilities

  –

  Throughout the storied history of the fire service, there have been many changes and breakthroughs. The advancements in technology and improvements in personal protective equipment have saved many ...

• Load More