When Things Get Hot: How to Lead Like a Fire Chief

When Things Get Hot: How to Lead Like a Fire Chief

By Allyson Pratt

“Grabbing life by the horns” -- Ideen has been fortunate to cross paths with a Texan who does just that. During a recent trip to Austin, Texas, we had the unique experience of meeting the chief of Austin’s Fire Department -- Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr.  On 31 May 2013, a group of young and eager cadets of the Austin Fire Department made their way across the stage to receive badges that confirmed an end to a long, exhausting six months of training at Austin’s Fire Academy. Administering the badges was Chief Kerr, Austin’s first female fire chief.

My first impression of Chief Kerr: commanding presence, constant smile, genuineness. A female chief in a male-dominated field is an impressive feat; her enthusiasm and energy completely won over her audience. I couldn’t help but want to know a little more about her.

Fortunately, Chief Kerr was gracious enough to answer a few post-ceremony questions, via email, about the evolution of her exciting career. As I sifted through her responses, I was impressed with how leadership qualities permeated every answer, qualities that are applicable to leaders in any field. 

We felt it important to share them with you here:

Inspiration -- Initially, Chief Kerr was a physical education teacher and coach until a friend suggested she apply to the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department. The idea intrigued the fourth-generation fire fighter, though she says it was not her first career choice in life. She explains, “...I came to realize that sometimes, the second or third choice ends up being the best one.”

Keeping the door of opportunity wide open could lead you somewhere you never thought you could be if you didn’t try. I love this, because I don’t know anyone who has stuck with one job without wondering about different avenues.

Confidence -- It’s key, right? It sounds obvious, but it can be harrowing to pull up your work boots in the face of adversity. As Chief Kerr explains, “As a woman in a predominantly male field, I have faced many challenges and struggles. Women in the fire service have to work harder, and will be more closely scrutinized, than their male counterparts.” She advises anyone, women particularly, with apprehension about applying for this job to embrace their vision and ability and to be swayed by no one.

Unfortunately, folks in the professional world are sometimes judged on things outside typical job parameters. The importance of believing in your ability and playing to your strengths could mean the difference between success and defeat.

Stay positive -- When negativity surfaces in the media or elsewhere in her profession, she offers a simple coping solution: smiling. Chief Kerr maintains it will “make you feel better in any situation--just smile!” Why not?

She may be on to something, as smiling has been confirmed by research to improve your mood. The bottom line is, staying positive will not only help carry you through any sudden hell that arises in your career, but it will also benefit the mood of employees or co-workers.

Balance -- Chief Kerr talks about help outside the office: “Surround yourself with individuals who are encouraging, positive, uplifting, and love what they do, and remember, life is all about balance. I work hard to stay healthy, eat well, take care of myself, and have a fulfilling personal life outside of work. I seek advice from friends, family, co-workers, and even those who don’t always agree with me. The more brains at the table sharing ideas, the better!”

Commitment -- Regarding leadership qualities she looks for in other people, honesty, loyalty, courage, respect, and integrity were the winners. She demands the same qualities of herself.

In leading by example, one commits herself to inherent values and earns the respect of those following in her footsteps.

Chief Kerr says the most rewarding thing about her job is “working with awesome people in the best city in the country.” Perhaps we’re not all cut out to be fire chiefs, but when we adopt the right attitude and make the right impressions, we can certainly lead like one. If we unearth our confidence, exude constant positivity, maintain a balance of personal and business life and, perhaps most importantly, commit ourselves to this daily, who’s to say we can’t? 

What Barbecue Can Teach You About Your Business

Summer is right around the corner, and grills across the country are being fired up for the sole purpose of indulging in that great tradition of barbecue. But like all skills, there is always room for improvement, so there must be a Barbecue University. At Barbecue University, students learn not only the basics of grilling, but also the artistry that separates the amateur griller from the grill-master. Interested in their powerhouse marketing scheme, Lisa enrolled in a class at BBQU and live-tweeted the lessons she learned, and what she discovered may surprise you.

It may not seem obvious, but many of the lessons involved in barbecuing can be applied to business practices. For example,

There’s only so much you can learn by rote in the way of barbecue, and many people attribute their skills at the grill to a mentor. So too with business: often a guide who has trodden the path before you and made his or her own mistakes can be more helpful than any manual. While mentorship can help the next generation thrive in the workplace, it can also create a bond of trust and mutual understanding that brings an interpersonal element into an otherwise un-personal setting.

As important as it is to learn lessons from past mistakes or people who have “been there first”, great achievements are nearly always founded on risk-taking, carefully calculated or otherwise. Whether it be inventing a new sauce or devising an innovative workflow, risk taking and challenging tradition can, in some circumstances, sow the seeds for great rewards.

Like all projects, though, there must be one person to spearhead a new initiative. As Lisa puts it vividly,

Another great lesson comes in the form of something many of us have been told our whole lives:

Certainly in the current economy, many people are becoming much more prudent about the way materials and resources are consumed. Quite simply, many of us can’t afford to be wasteful. Good business practice indicates that if you can put something to good use rather than throw it out, you should.

Product placement is also crucial for retail companies, and a local business in Denver donated a pit barrel to Barbecue University for instructional use. By doing so, they were able to advertise a product through demonstration and endorsement by an established institution.

Finally, one of the most important lessons came in the form of teamwork, in which students had to work as a team to barbecue a Brazilian rib roast. In grilling as in business, when everyone on a team is working toward a shared goal, the results can be spectacular, and in this case, delicious.

-Hilary Adams

Small, But Mighty – America’s Microbusinesses

This weekend, while staying at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis, we ran into the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), which was holding its annual conference for entrepreneurs.

Never heard of the AEO?  Yes, well, we hadn’t either.  But during the short exchange with the group, we came away impressed with their mission.

AEO is the “voice of microbusiness development in the United States,” as described in their mission statement at their website.  Microbusinesses are companies that employ five or fewer employees.  According to the AEO, if one in three microbusinesses hired just one additional employee, the United States would be at full employment.  That’s because microbusinesses make up close to 90 percent of America’s businesses.

AEO works with entrepreneurs, micro-lenders, small business development organizations, nonprofit lending organizations, and educational institutions to promote the success of microenterprise.  The nonprofit Association brings the concerns of underserved entrepreneurs to Capitol Hill and the White House.  It provides networking opportunities so microbusinesses can be supportive of each other. 

And, had we known that Daymond John was scheduled to speak at the conference, we would have changed our flights and stuck around to hear from one of the stars of ABC’s Shark Tank.  We wonder just how many of those entrepreneurs at the conference had prepared a “pitch” for John and were hoping to corner him on the elevator…

Twitter Advice -- Brief & meaningful, but also visible & accurate

By Hilary Adams

Brief but meaningful content: a site like Twitter is designed with both concepts in mind, but can really only enforce the former. With over 500 million users pouring countless thoughts, links, and photos into a 140-character, haiku-like space, a formula like the one presented in Michael Sebastian’s article "Anatomy of the Perfect Tweet" must look like a godsend; after all, if eight simple guidelines can be used to craft a tweet designed for maximum dissemination, why wouldn’t you use it?

But riddle me this: if a blogger tweets, but there’s no one around to read it, does it matter how perfectly designed it is?

The answer: Of course not. Before any business or organization can hope to make any sort of impact on Twitter, it needs to accrue followers. Sure, Twitter users can find tweets using tracked tags, but many prefer to follow specific accounts that appear directly on their Twitter feed whenever they log in. What Sebastian fails to mention in his article is that regardless of how an individual tweet is designed, if no one knows about your specific account, it’s unlikely to gain any sort of notoriety or experience mass dissemination.

So what does this mean for small businesses? Make your Twitter handle visible -- everywhere.   If you plan to use Twitter as a primary source for business updates, product launches, etc., put the Twitter logo on everything from business cards to shop window decals to signature blocks on company emails. When customers inquire about upcoming events, be sure to let them know that all of the details and updates can be found at your Twitter account. If your company caters to a more tech-savvy clientele (usually between the ages of 14-35), so much the better: this age range comprises the vast majority of personal Twitter account users.

For government agencies, the goal should be transparency and accuracy to the extent possible. Sebastian’s first pointer – including links – is especially crucial here. Because Twitter is designed for brevity, most important news updates cannot be fully explained in a single tweet, which is why the use of links to agency blogs becomes critical.

A word of caution to both: there is such a thing as tweeting too much, and it can be detrimental in the long run. As a regular user of the site, I have found that even if I like and follow a certain company, if it updates 10+ times a day with no breaking news or pertinent product information I am likely to unfollow its account. So keep it brief, yes, but especially meaningful.

On my honor: Business lessons from Girl Scout cookies

By Monica W. Wamsley

Little girls and the youngest ladies donning sashes and badges appear to have just as much business savvy as the entrepreneurial sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

“There’s more to Girl Scout Cookies than what’s in the box,” proclaims the Girl Scouts’ website.

Selling cookies teaches the young ladies five important skills for running their own lives and future businesses. The five skills are essential to leadership and general success, encouraging teamwork, critical thinking, and expanding horizons.

1. Goal Setting

She says:

“My Girl Scout friends and I figured out real goals, like how we want cookie buyers to feel when they buy a box. Or what good we can do with the money we make. … It has made me realize how good it feels to work really hard to reach a goal.”

Lessons:

Take time to review your marketing strategy. How do you want potential clients and customers to feel about your product or service? How can you achieve this? (Perhaps social media, logo redesign, targeting a specific demographic, outside counsel.)

Pay it forward: Sponsor a local event, take on an intern, or upgrade your technology.

Hard work is rewarding. You can do this.

2.  Decision Making

She says:

“I make my own decisions, like how many boxes I want to sell, how to explain to people the good that comes from buying a box of cookies, and how hard I’m working to make my goal. We all have to agree on what we’ll do with the money, which means talking it out and being okay with sometimes not getting my way. And I have to figure out how to solve problems, like what to do when one of the girls is sick and can’t help out. … There’s no looking to Mom or Dad for help.”

Lessons:

Be articulate about your goals. Don’t ask, don’t get. Persistence and consistency aid in deciding the best course for reaching your goals.

Leadership, teamwork, and delegation are vital; brainstorming together is always a great option, and reinforcing decisions once they are made is essential. We won’t always get our way in the work world, and we can’t expect to be bailed out, either.

3. Money Management

She says:

“You have to watch not just the money coming in, but the money you spend. … Now, I think twice before I buy something with my own money—or at least come up with a better reason to ask Mom for more.”

Lessons:

Cash flow, credit, invoices, billing, estimated taxes: It can be overwhelming. Setting aside time every week to review your accounts takes some stress out of the whole thing. Should you run into a problem, it’s best to find it when it’s small, rather than when it’s large.

Carefully consider your business purchases: Do you really need another iPad?

Apply for grants — and put effort into it. What great things will you do if awarded that contract? Sell yourself.

4. People Skills

She says:

“I can’t be shy. I have to speak up and look them in the eye when I’m talking. And I have to be able to explain why I’m doing what I’m doing.”

Lessons:

Confidence and articulation stand out. Businesses and projects involve risks — but they are always learning opportunities and can often yield contacts.

5. Business Ethics

She says:

“I see how important it is to keep your word all the time. And why it’s important to build trust. If I don’t do something I say I will, it ends up hurting not just me but the other girls, too.”

Lessons:

Yep, it's a big one.

People often call for more transparency and accountability in government. Being able to trust colleagues and vendors is no less important; business relationships are inextricably linked to character.

Character and reputation are two sides of the same coin. Character is who you are; reputation is who others think you are. Character will guide your goals, and reputation will affect your business relationships.

This is where small businesses can thrive: pulling their weight with coworkers and consumers, and establishing an excellent reputation.

Does your mission statement sounds like this? It is the foundation for each of the five skills that Girl Scouts learn and use as they sell cookies.

I will do my best to be

honest and fair,

friendly and helpful,

considerate and caring,

courageous and strong, and

responsible for what I say and do,

and to

respect myself and others,

respect authority,

use resources wisely,

make the world a better place, and

be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Morethan 59 million American women were Girl Scouts, and there are currently 3.2 million Girl Scouts.

Some things never go out of style. After all, who doesn’t want to make the world a better place?

(You can connect with Girl Scouts on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.)

"Brief, but meaningful" - Grabbing the attention of Gen Y

“Brief, but meaningful.”  We asked one of younger staffers to reflect on how small businesses could reach her generation – the Millennials – through social media and here’s her advice.  Quite sage, we think, for one so young! 

According to Hilary:

Convincing anyone in this day and age to switch brands or invest in an unfamiliar brand seems next to impossible, if only because of the sheer volume of advertisements and marketing schemes being deployed through every form of media. Eventually, potential customers become desensitized to the myriad internet pop-ups, Facebook sidebar ads, and even television commercials. Ads in periodicals are really only effective in fashion and cosmetic magazines, and good luck trying to reach anyone under the age of forty with newspaper ads!

For the current generation of high school and college students, as well as recent grads and young professionals, one thing almost never fails to grab our attention: Facebook notifications. Direct interaction with our Facebook profiles, either through friends’ tagged statuses and photos, wall posts, and messages take top priority for our attention and engagement. If a friend asks us to “like” a brand or artist page on Facebook, we’re more likely to do it than if a sidebar ad tells us to do the same thing. But here’s the big question:

What does it mean to “like” a page on Facebook?

Like all social interactions, one person’s intentions behind “liking” something may be entirely different from someone else’s. For example, I “like” over forty restaurants and retail stores on Facebook, only a handful of which I frequent with any sort of regularity. “Liking” a page on Facebook transmits all of that page’s status updates into the “liker’s” news feed, but who actually has time to read all of those statuses?

Some small businesses are taking a fresh tack in attempting to reach their target demographics: hiring brand ambassadors with an existing network of potential customers and a working knowledge of social networking sites– in other words, college students and recent graduates. This kind of advertising almost doesn’t feel like advertising at all for the consumers, who are seeing personal endorsements from friends and people they trust rather than flashy sidebar ads.

On the subject of hiring recent college graduates, it seems sites like LinkedIn definitely have a place, but more as a focal point of career networking and news updates rather than job hunting. On the whole, students still seem to be actively seeking jobs in more familiar forums, such as on-site career fairs at their universities, websites like USA JOBS, or direct networking with friends or family in a given professional field.

There is one other place millennials are finding career information: Twitter. Far from being just a sounding board for celebrities, Twitter is also used by working professionals to discuss upcoming projects and important advice and tips for people in the field as well as those interested in it. For example, I am interested in a career in screenwriting, so I located several of my favorite screenwriters on Twitter and started following their accounts, gaining insight into what kinds of projects they take on, what kinds of other industry professionals they work in direct contact with, and generally learning about the various challenges and benefits of working in that field. If you know someone in your chosen field that has an active professional Twitter account, it can be a great source for research.

So if you’re a small business trying to reach a millennial clientele, here’s what you might want to start doing: use brand ambassadors to establish trust within social networking communities, tailor some of your products to younger adults who tend to be more conservative with their finances, and if you’re looking to hire recent grads, try to find university career fairs to attend and set up a professional Twitter to advertise or give career advice. Keep it brief but meaningful, and you have a very good chance for success!