Followership is Leadership: DREAM

Invest in you! You can live your DREAM!



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Begin the challenge today by downloading the 2015 Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge: Followership is Leadership Reference Guide.

The Art of War

(Photo credit: iz quotes)

The Art of War
by Al Mozingo

Introduction
Over the years I've heard references to The Art of War several times. But, I never read the book. Recently I picked up a book called The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. Within the context of that book, he writes about The Art of War.

The book is divided into three segments: The Killing Sword, The Life-Giving Sword, and No Sword. Even though this book is about ancient times and about war, it may be applicable to us today. There are references that these apply to business, our everyday lives, and what we say and do. They apply to our interpersonal relations and how we behave and act.

The Art of War describes a conflict between good and evil; between life and death. The book describes how we can use our ability to create strategies to win. There are people who present good as bad and pretend to be righteous. We must be on the lookout to observe with utmost attention to discern what is right and wrong. People will be concern with their own interest and not acting in consideration of others. This causes problems, resentfulness, and angriness.

The Art of War is to give you knowledge, to have strategies to give life to many people by killing evil. The three scrolls (swords) convey this knowledge to strive for goodness--to do what is right.

The Killing Sword
The first lesson is the attainment of the way. To learn, to understand, and to articulate these principles learning is the gate.

Next, we must practice the art and study. To spontaneously conform to learning without consciously being aware of it is part of The Art of War. When you have succeeded in learning, it is a part of you, incorporated into your personality. This achievement is built on cultivating learning a practice.

In the Zen Arts, this learning has progressed into harmonizing your self-conscious knowledge into your unconscious. The inward attitude is called the will and what emanates outwardly is called mood. It is essential to control your mood by your will. If you're not mindful of this, the will can be drawn into by the mood. Then you're using your emotions.

To allow you to succeed and to gain victory you must control the mind. Get the other person to make the first move. This is the appropriate strategy to The Art of War. The methods of seeing what is happening is implementing a strategy and to induce the other person to tip their hand. This will allow you to gain victory by seeing what strategy they are using.

To gain the victory you need to keep your mind on the idea before you, This is done by developing single-minded concentration. This must be practice. This single-minded concentration will allow you to conceive, act and follow through to win.

Now concerning an attack. A hasty attack is a bad thing. To press aggressively is only after preparing yourself mentally and observing the situation. It is essential not to get flustered or you may loose. Observe your adversary's condition for resentfulness or anger. Be aware these things can cause you a problem.

One who thinks they know everything is inept. One who has attained realization and is upright is called "enlightened." The upright mind is called the mind of the Way. Attainment of the Way is important and will allow you to know much and to be adept.

"The First Sword" is a code word for seeing any incipient movement. You are to be observant and be able to perceive the impulses and actions of an adversary. To perceive this is called "one seeing." Perceiving with the eyes is called seeing something. To perceive with the mind is called observing something. You need to develop both.

The primary reason for "one to see," is to perceive what is happening, whether it exists and to understand the abilities and intentions of another. Seeing with the eyes is subordinate to seeing with the mine. The mind can see things far away, before the eyes can actually see it. The mind can help prepare you beforehand.

The Life-Giving Sword
People's abilities and intentions are manifested in many ways. You must be on the lookout for these to win. Do what is good; throw away what is bad. You should not be too quick or too slow. In a casual manner, do what is right. When you act to quickly, you will be flustered. When you act too slowly, you are timid.

"The First Principle" is a code word in marital arts. In the context of the Art of War, it means to keep a clear mind, pay close attention and make sure you don't get caught unprepared.

The face can tell intentions. The color of the face changes with feelings and moods. If the blood rises and the face turns red, the person may be angry. Keep watch. If their is a flow and a smile, this is good. Keep a watch for this. It is the energy in the body, and the body that tells a story. The principle is very relevant in dealing with people.

No Sword
When you have no sword and unarmed you can still prevail. You can take another sword away. This is the aim of the swordless, to win the fight with no sword. Attitude is the basic idea of swordlessness.

Zen monks are able to harmonize with the truth. Using the truth in what you say and do is very important. This allows one to have "great spiritual power." Working freely and independently, you can perceive the concealing of intentions, deceptions and actions of others. Always keep aware and see with your mind.

Mastery is what your trying to attain as a good fighter. You have great potential if you are attentive to everything. Your potential will mature and increase if you are watchful. To be attentive your mind must not linger. It is essential to practice an attitude of not dwelling on any one thing. You must be ready at all times. Always do what is right, keeping your mind on that which is needed (rightness).

Conclusion

The book is very complex and esoteric. We need to reflect upon our thinking on what is being said in its' pages. Our own enlightenment comes from reflection, training, truth, and doing what is right. Let us all affirm what is right and strive to do what is right.

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Reference:

The Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi, translated by Thomas Cleary, Shambhala Publications, Boston, MA 1993

About the Author:

Al Mozingo is well-versed in leadership training and a certified leadership development instructor. He teaches Basic and Advanced Leadership. See Mr. Mozingo’s website: www.firemanager.com.

Printed with permission from the author.

Food for Thought - Involve Them

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin

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From the Field for the Field Contest Winners

The WLFDP is proud to announce the winners of the 2014 IGNITE the Spark for Leadership - From the Field for the Field Contest.  The following teams are to be recognized on jobs well-done! Congratulations for IGNITING the Spark for Leadership.

• First Place: Ruby Mountain IHC
• Runner Up: Carson City BLM Fire and Aviation 
• Honorable Mention: South Puget Sound Region, Washington State Department of Natural Resources
• Honorable Mention: Uinta Wasatch Cache - South Zone, US Forest Service 

Each group will receive a set of books for their leadership library.

In the near future, application packages will posted on the WFLDP website.

Storytelling

by Justin Vernon

A few days ago the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program posted a question about storytelling on their Facebook page, and that kick started my thought process about the topic.

Let me start off by saying I love good storytelling, especially stories that are true. I’ve always read some varieties of fiction, mainly Louis L’Amour westerns and sci-fi and fantasy in the style of Douglas Adams, J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan, along with smatterings of other fiction. But for the most part I find myself drawn to the stories that are true, found in memoirs, biographies, and the like. I often find that reality provides us with stories that are better than can be created in an author’s imagination, because sometimes reality is so improbable that one couldn’t just make it up. More than that, for me at least, I find that true stories simply resonate more strongly with me than fiction does. That’s probably because as I read a work of fiction, I’m always aware that it’s a fabrication, that the author is likely writing events in a purposeful manner to create or invoke certain emotions for the reader. In non-fiction stories, there isn’t that same sense, real or imagined, that the author is trying to manipulate my thought process.

Anyway, back to storytelling. One of the things I love most about working in wildland fire, and aviation especially, is the storytelling that happens whenever a group of people come together. There’s always a slow time when the stories start to roll out – whether it’s sitting around the office or station over a cup of coffee waiting for an IA, or out in the field during mop-up. Given that many fire people have an adventurous nature and goofy temperament to some degree, the stories of screwups, mishaps, and improbable successes are almost always good for a laugh.

I think it’s often overlooked that wildland firefighting is primarily a culture where oral traditions reign supreme. At least in my experience, most fire folks are in fire because they enjoy working in the woods, and activities like reading just aren’t that high on the priority list. Very few of us ended up in this line of work because we enjoyed office buildings and paperwork. While there are notable exceptions, most folks don’t carry books in their gear bags. I remember that I was in college, studying forestry with a combination of timber beasts and fire folks, when I realized that most of my peers didn’t read for pleasure, and even reading for school or work was avoided when possible. As I’ve grown older and more observant, I’ve realized that while reading isn’t a priority for this culture, oral storytelling takes the place of reading in transferring knowledge, traditions, best practices, and cultural norms among members of the group. Thus storytelling in its various forms has a more powerful role to play in the fire community than might be expected at first glance.

Telling stories is a powerful way to exchange information, and establish commonalities among members of the group. It’s amazing how often you can find that despite having a completely different background from someone you’ve just met, you share similar experiences. Stories are one way in which we can establish common experiences with one another, and in the fire realm, can be great tool when building a team. Sitting around a beer-filled table, or around a bonfire beer in hand while sharing stories is one of our culture’s primary means of forming bonds within the group, outside of shared experiences on the fireline.

It’s also a way for us, as the “crusty old salts,” to pass information on to the younger people in our lives. I still remember soaking up random bits and pieces of information listening to the more experienced folks on the crew swap stories around the hangar when I started working in helitack a decade ago. It’s impossible for us to share our knowledge all at once with the next generation, and storytelling is a way of parceling out that knowledge when it’s appropriate to do so, whether over beers after work or around the shop sharpening saws and tools after a day of project work.

Informal storytelling is also a way that we can share our negative experiences in an environment that is relatively safe for the person doing the sharing. Formal means of exploring accidents, screwups, failures, etc, often have a negative association, whereas informal storytelling can be a safer way to share your experience, and what you learned from your screwup. Think of the powerful learning moments in your life, and I bet you’ll find more occurred in a storytelling situation than during a formal learning event.

Storytelling is personal, and that personal connection you get when telling or listening to a story is important in the increasingly disconnected environment of 21st century social interaction. We tend to pay more attention to things when they’re relevant, when there’s a personal connection or relationship with the story being told, and when we pay attention we usually get more out out of it than if it doesn’t hold our attention.

A great example for me is the story of South Canyon/Storm King. I’d read the reports, and I’d read Fire on the Mountain, and while interesting, it really wasn’t all that personal. This past summer Eric Hipke with the National Interagency Fire Center released a two-part video telling the story South Canyon in the words of those who were there. For me that video made an impact beyond what reading about the event had. When you see the faces of those involved, and you can read their emotions, see their pain, still strong twenty years later, and imagine being in their shoes, it becomes personal, and more real.

I like telling stories. I’ve been blessed to have experiences in my life and career that are somewhat unique in nature, and they make for some great stories. For me at least, storytelling is as much about defining who we are as it is entertaining or teaching and learning. My stories are part of who I am, pieces of the puzzle that is me. Like puzzle pieces, each story can be interesting in and of itself, but it’s only when all the pictures are assembled that you see the sum of the parts. It doesn’t matter if it’s your stories, painting a picture of your life, or the stories of you organization or family, painting a bigger picture – there’s value in the storytelling that is often missed in the digital age.

Until next time…

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Justin Vernon is a regular guest contributor on our blog. Justin works for the United States Forest Service and is a member of Sparks for Professional Reading Program Change. Check out his Chasing Fire blog. All expressions are those of the author.

Food for Thought - Praise

Leaders praise and reward appropriately, as required by the effort and situation. – Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, page 58

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Food for Thought - Submission to Duty

Leadership is submission to duty, not elevation to power. – Gordon Tootoosis

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Good Leaders Make All the Difference

Leadership is the art of influencing people in order to achieve a result. The most essential element for success in the wildland fire service is good leadership. (Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, p. 1)

Good leaders can build up or destroy the very populations they lead. In "The Leaders Who Ruined Africa, and the Generation Who Can Fix It," Fred Swaniker shares his vision of a new Africa built upon the success of leaders like Nelson Mandela. Swaniker's transformational leadership philosophy can be the catalyst for creating greatness.

"Every now and then, a generation is called upon to be great. You can be that great generation." ~ Nelson Mandela

How can leadership development at the lowest levels create greatness across the wildland fire community?

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper

• Read or watch "The Long Walk to Freedom" about the leadership legacy of Nelson Mandela. 
• From the Field for the Field Challenge: Develop a "The Long Walk to Freedom" lesson plan for the Leadership in Cinema program.

Food for Thought - Students of Fire

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. –  Benjamin Franklin

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Food for Thought - Resilience

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.– Helen Keller

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