Books have been written, sessions have been conducted and papers have been researched, all in pursuit of the same elusive answer to the ultimate question about a career in 911: How do you continually find and model positivity in an atmosphere that often seems so hellbent on sucking every ounce of it out of the…
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Six of the earth’s mightiest superheroes roam your comm center. Today, for the first time anywhere, their names and astonishing abilities shall be revealed to all! As you’ll see, you are currently among them (or soon will be), cape optional (though a cape is ALWAYS a good look). I’m not trying to make a bold…
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Being a good citizen at work is the key to improving your work culture because a single person can change everything. Believe it. The way you carry yourself and interact with others undeniably impacts their satisfaction at work and, subsequently, the way they interact with others. This is true whether you are a newbie, a…
Details“Write it on your heart that each day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson The first few weeks of a new year are rife with promise. We can see it all in front of us as we optimistically visualize being the person we strive to become, for ourselves and for…
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‘Twas Christmas Eve in dispatch, and all through the center the holiday eating made everything better. The dispatchers hoped and the call takers trusted that this shift – just once! – would not be disrupted. The phones seemed to settle; the radios, too no one dared say so – but ‘quiet’ hopes grew.…
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“You suck, and you have everyone fooled into thinking you can do this. But they know you can’t, don’t they? Why would you even try?” We’ve all heard this voice, belching forth confidence-shattering negativity from an alcove in our heads where it lives, rent-free. The voice seems to exist solely to undermine any effort we…
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Do you have a person in your life, who inspires you? A person who loves deeply and without reservation, who cares unabashedly and fully, and whose perspective on life helps you to better understand the importance of the things that truly matter? I hope you do. I do. And I want to tell you about…
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Think about a relentlessly positive coworker in your life – a person who consistently presents themselves this way as a friend or colleague. They are supportive, quick to laugh and ready to assist with anything you need without being asked to do so. Do have one of these people in your life? If so, is…
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It’s easy to poke and prod at the things we need to improve in our comm centers. It’s a legit exercise, this poking and prodding, but an important fact gets lost when we focus solely on what needs to be fixed: Our comm centers are filled with absolute badasses doing sheer badassery. Yes, badasses doing…
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Human beings work in 9-1-1. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that. Dispatchers train hard to assist our citizens unemotionally and efficiently. Doing the job well requires us to set our feelings aside. But our human side is always there, and we are always vulnerable. In the 90’s I worked with an intensely likable, jovial guy…
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