In "Light a Fire under Your Business" former Los Angeles Fire Department Captains turned business executives Tom Pandola and James W. Bird share principles for management, leadership and success.
"Firefighting is a hot, dirty and dangerous environment," notes Pandola. "And yet, it has also been a great place for us to discover real-world business practices that work. Big fires start small, just like a big accomplishment starts with a single idea. Best practices can spread faster than wildfire if they are shared with others."
It doesn't matter who you are leading--a firefighting team, a business team, or a couple of account managers--it is your inspirational words that matter. Once you have learned the value of helping others to understand that what they do is important and why doing it well always matters to someone, you have become an inspirational leader.
When your leadership team does this routinely, your people will be empowered to focus on success. This is because each and every one of them will have a better idea of what success looks like to him or her. Most people will always work harder to accomplish the things that they think are important.
It only takes a spark of inspiration to make a huge difference when it comes to improving organizational culture and leadership. Ultimately, this can improve your process, empower your people, and transform your culture in a way that is right for you and your organization.