Combustible
Self-Improvement
About
A fire service leadership podcast.
Episodes
- Episode 116 - Leading Neverland
Episode 116 - Leading Neverland The CTP Group Everybody likes to have fun. But what happens when the allure of having fun gets in the way of personal growth? Or for the growth of the organization?
- Episode 115 - Great Leadership in Not-so-great Movies Vol. 1
Episode 115 - Great Leadership in Not-so-great Movies Vol. 1 The CTP Group We’ve talked before about leadership in movies like Moneyball and Saving Private Ryan. But what happens when there’s great leadership in a movie no one wants to see…
- Episode 114 - The Game Has Changed with Greene County Fire Chief Rodney Wiggins
Episode 114 - The Game Has Changed with Greene County Fire Chief Rodney Wiggins The CTP Group On September 4, 2024, Greene County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Chris Eddy was tragically killed at a tractor trailer fire. In this episode, Fire…
- Episode 113 - Perseverance and Endurance
Episode 113 - Perseverance and Endurance The CTP Group Antarctic Explorers, the British Prime Minister, and a recruit that wouldn’t give up.
- Episode 112 - Sean's Team with Fire Chief Pat Kenny
Episode 112 - Sean's Team with Fire Chief Pat Kenny The CTP Group One word to describe Fire Chief (Ret.) Pat Kenny’s story is heartbreaking. But you could also describe it as raw, honest, inspirational, optimistic, and most of all…a call t…
- Episode 111 - Parallels and Extreme Ownership with Chris Welchel
Episode 111 - Parallels and Extreme Ownership with Chris Welchel The CTP Group For this episode, we sit down with Chris Welchel, co-owner of the Towing and Recovery company Welchel Enterprises, to talk about leadership; specifically the co…
- Episode 110 - Do We Need To Demystify Leadership? (Part 2)
Episode 110 - Do We Need To Demystify Leadership? Part 2 The CTP Group This is the second part of our discussion on whether this podcast’s focus on the challenges of leadership are discouraging the next crop of leaders from stepping up. If…
- Episode 109 - Do We Need to Demystify Leadership? (Part 1)
Episode 109 - Do We Need To Demystify Leadership? (Part 1) The CTP Group This episode grew out of a discussion while hiking that maybe we have talked about great leadership to the point where anyone starting out on their leadership journey…
- Episode 108 - The Most Sacred Leadership Principle
Episode 108 - The Most Sacred Leadership Principle The CTP Group On this episode, we examine the crash of a B-52 in 1994, and the events leading up to it, through the actions of two of the four USAF officers killed: the pilot whose disrega…
- Episode 107 - Substitution In Decision-Making
We hijack Daniel Kahneman’s idea of substitution and apply it to decision-making in the fire service. How reliable is your decision-making on scene if your brain unknowingly substitutes a logical question with an emotional one?
- Episode 106 - Is Emotion the Charging Elephant in the Room?
Episode 106 - Is Emotion the Charging Elephant in the Room? The CTP Group A recent discussion with one of our listeners led us on a discussion of what part emotion plays in our roles as firefighters and our responses on this podcast.
- Episode 105 - Falkland's Law (with guest host Scott Sellers)
Episode 105 - Falkland's Law (with guest host Scott Sellers) The CTP Group This episode is about delaying decision-making. Or maybe it’s not. We really don’t know what to think of Falkland’s Law, but we have a good time not getting anywher…
- Episode 104 - Lē'•der•shǐp' (noun)
Episode 104 - Lē'•der•shǐp' (noun) The CTP Group We talk about it A LOT, but we’ve never really tried to define what we think leadership is. In this episode, we discuss various definitions of leadership; what we like and what we don’t like.
- Episode 103 - What Would Ted Do?
Photo Credit: Cottonbro Studio Episode 103 - What Would Ted Do? The CTP Group Whenever you lose your way as a leader, you can always ask yourself, “What would Ted do?”
- Episode 102 - Building Experience And Turning It Into Expertise
Episode 102 - Building Experience And Turning It Into Expertise The CTP Group In this episode, we dive into how firefighters’ decision-making process works, and how critically reliant that process is on experience. So, where are we missing…
- Episode 101 - Bob Maynard Part III - The Black Box
Bob (left) on the Appalachian Trail. Episode 101 - Bob Maynard Part III - The Black Box The CTP Group In Part 3 of our interview we pick up where we left off and get into how we evaluate accidents in the fire service, what we might be able…
- Episode 100 - Bob Maynard Part 2: Purposeful Non-Compliance
Photo credit: Maarten Visser This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Episode 100 - Bob Maynard Part II - Purposeful Non-Compliance The CTP Group Bob is the first guest we’ve had to show…
- Episode 099 - Bob Maynard Part 1: The Most Interesting Man In The World
- Episode 098 - Technical Expertise vs. Judgment
- Episode 097 - George Cowgill on Resigning, Retiring, and Leaving the Birmingham Fire Department
Episode 097 - George Cowgill on Resigning, Retiring, and Leaving the Birmingham Fire Department The CTP Group Former Birmingham Firefighter George Cowgill posted a very personal account of his time as a firefighter, and why he’s leaving th…
- Episode 096 - We Debate What the Hell a Psychological Contract Is (and Whether You Can Break One in Good Conscience)
Episode 096 - We Debate What the Hell a Psychological Contract Is The CTP Group Like the picture above, psychological contracts can be binding, circular, heavy, old, rusty, and sometimes broken. Before this episode, two of us hadn’t ever h…
- Episode 095 - Know Your Enemy
Episode 095 - Know Your Enemy The CTP Group Fire is where the glory is. They call us firefighters, not building fighters. But fire isn’t really the enemy, is it? How well do you know your enemy?
- Episode 094 - Every...Single...One
Episode 094 - Every...Single...One The CTP Group Murder holes, force multipliers, and obstacles. All of them are components leading to what very well may be a unified theory of firefighters.
- Episode 093 - We Solve The Pay Problem
Episode 093 - We Solve The Pay Problem The CTP Group Spoiler Alert: we don’t really solve the pay problem. That would break a long-standing tradition on our podcast of not solving anything. But there are virtual arms races in some regions…
- Episode 092 - That I May See
Episode 092 - That I May See The CTP Group What happens when lightning doesn’t strike a house, and you don’t act like the other firefighters?
- Episode 091 - The Pathfinder Part III
Episode 091 - The Pathfinder Part III The CTP Group And we wrap up our series on The Pathfinder with Part III, which picks up right where we left off at the end of Part II.
- Episode 090 - The Pathfinder Part II
Episode 090 - The Pathfinder Part II The CTP Group We think that the Pathfinder concept is such an important one, that we actually recorded two separate episodes trying to get it right. But each episode went different directions, so they b…
- Episode 089 - Damned Sweet
Episode 089 - Damned Sweet The CTP Group What do a fire recruit, a 70’s sitcom, and Walt Disney have to do with regret?
- Episode 088 - The Pathfinder
Episode 088 - The Pathfinder The CTP Group Every organization has those persons who push the organization from the inside. They advocate passionately for change, but while they’re doing it they can cause discomfort for those around them. T…
- Episode 087 - The Ship of Theseus
Episode 087 - The Ship of Theseus The CTP Group This isn’t really an outtake; it’s just a short take on a topic that wasn’t really large enough to devote an entire episode to. Bill, all by his lonesome, talks into the mic about the paradox…
- Episode 086 - Be Wrong Or Do Nothing?
Episode 086 - Be Wrong or Do Nothing? The CTP Group A listener asked us: “At what point is a wrong decision actually worse than no decision at all?” It’s a great starting point for a roving conversation that gets into whether results matte…
- Episode 085 - On Hallowed Ground with Eriks Gabliks
Episode 085 - On Hallowed Ground with Eriks Gabliks The CTP Group The National Fire Academy is the home of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial; hallowed ground for any firefighter. To borrow a phrase from President Lincoln at the ded…
- Episode 084 - For Bill Smith, A Battle Buddy
Episode 084 - For Bill Smith, A Battle Buddy The CTP Group On June 6, 2021, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Smith gave his life while saving others who got caught in a rip current off the Alabama shore. Two of our podcast crew (Shane…
- Episode 083 - What's Better: To Be Liked or Respected?
Episode 083 - What's Better: To Be Liked or Respected? The CTP Group As is the case with many of our episodes, we didn’t set out to make an episode about this. It actually was just a spirited conversation that we were having when we realiz…
- Episode 082 - Firefighter Luck
Episode 082 - Firefighter Luck The CTP Group How do we as firefighters deal with luck? How honest are we about what part luck plays in our successes? More specifically, how much do we count on the same luck at our next fire? That’s where w…
- Episode 081 - What Do You Do When You Don't Get Promoted?
Episode 081 - What Do You Do When You Don't Get Promoted? The CTP Group You make the case that you’re the best person for the next step up; only you don’t get chosen. What do you do then? When does a natural amount of disappointment turn i…
- Episode 080 - Joy, the Job, and Some Questions from Austin Kohler
Episode 080 - Joy, the Job, and Some Questions from Austin Kohler The CTP Group For this episode, we talk with “backstep” Firefighter Austin Kohler, who is only a few years into his career in the fire service. We ask him what he enjoys abo…
- Episode 079 - Planning, Preparation, and Pivoting with Louie Bruno
Episode 079 - Planning, Preparation, and Pivoting with Louie Bruno The CTP Group The book Leadership On The Line says a plan “is no more than today’s best guess.” So why do some in our profession get so attached to their plan that they can…
- Episode 078 - The Tenth Man
Episode 078 - The Tenth Man The CTP Group What you’re about to hear wasn’t really ever intended to be an episode. It was a side conversation that took place during a recording session in December 2019 that we just happened to record. We sa…
- Episode 077 - A Challenge for 2021, Hal Moore, and Buried Treasure
(Then) Lt. Colonel Hal Moore during the Battle of Ia Drang, 1965 in Vietnam. Episode 077 - A Challenge for 2021, Hal Moore, and Buried Treasure The CTP Group We’re issuing all of our listeners a challenge in 2021. It’s only nine minutes lo…
- Episode 076 - A Better Version of Yourself?
Episode 076 - A Better Version of Yourself? The CTP Group We’ll wager there isn’t a firefighter in the fire service who isn’t an advocate of training. But when you call that training “higher education” you start to get somewhat mixed react…
- Episode 075 - A Risky Episode: Building Your Team of Rivals
Episode 075 - A Risky Episode: Building Your Team of Rivals The CTP Group How do you figure out if someone is good for your team? Good for the organization? Good for you as a leader? What does it mean to build a diverse team, and how can d…
- Episode 074 - Ten Rounds of Undermining and Custom Turnout Gear
Photo by Konrad M from FreeImages Episode 074 - Ten Rounds of Undermining and Custom Turnout Gear The CTP Group When you don’t agree with a decision made above you, is it wrong to let people know you don’t agree? For this Ten Rounds we dis…
- Episode 073 - Screw-ups Are Your BFF
Episode 073 - Screw-Ups Are Your BFF The CTP Group No matter how hard we try to avoid them, screw-ups are going to happen. When they happen, we shouldn’t avoid acknowledging them. Don’t wear them like a badge of honor, but own them nonethe…
- Episode 072 - Ten Rounds Of Managing Expectations
Photo by Gábor Suhajda on FreeImages Episode 072 - Ten Rounds Of Managing Expectations CTP Group At the end of our last recording session we only had twenty minutes left to record, which isn’t enough for a full episode. So Hatch suggested…
- Episode 071 - Sizing Up The Size-Up
Episode 071 - Sizing Up the Size-Up The CTP Group We all should be doing a size-up as we approach any scene. And if you’ve got other units responding with you, someone is ultimately going to be required to give some of what you’re seeing a…
- Episode 070 - We Get A Lawyer with Lance LoRusso
Episode 070 - We Get A Lawyer with Attorney Lance LoRusso The CTP Group In this episode, we sit down with Attorney Lance LoRusso to discuss the dangers of something almost all firefighters engage in: social media. And you can’t talk about…
- Episode 069 - The Boots on the Ground
Episode 069 - The Boots On The Ground CTP Group There is a central concept that runs throughout Pete Blaber’s The Mission, The Men, and Me: that you should always listen to the boots on the ground. We really like that idea. Colin Powell sa…
- Episode 068 - Flippin' Firefighters with Todd Edwards Part 2
Episode 068 - Flippin' Firefighters with Todd Edwards Part 2 The CTP Group This episode is the second part to our conversation with Todd Edwards. We pick back up where we left off last time: with Todd’s view on how to approach the problem…
- Episode 067 - Flippin' Firefighters with Todd Edwards Part 1
Episode 067 - Flippin' Firefighters with Todd Edwards Part 1 The CTP Group The illusion of a perfect fire is a tempting one, but it’s also just that: an illusion. In the first part of our discussion with Todd Edwards, we talk about the “pe…