Excerpt: Creating and Leading High-Performance Organizations

Book by Buddy Marinette

The Battalion Chief Job That Got Away

After 12 years in some of our city’s most active stations, I decided to throw my hat in the ring for battalion chief. I do not really think I had my heart in it. I enjoyed my time on the engine and ladder truck, and I was wondering what was the point of being a firefighter if you couldn’t fight fires.

I did try for the battalion chief position anyway, but I did not get picked. It was a crushing blow because it was the first time in my career that I wasn’t successful at achieving a goal, even with as little effort as I had put forth. I didn’t want it that badly until I didn’t get it. Then, something changed. I was, for the first time in my career, feeling the sting of rejection and failure.

I was so sure that I was better suited for the position than the other candidates that I went to see the chief. Chief Diezel is a great man and was a firefighter’s chief. He was the kind of chief who not only knew you but also knew your wife and kids. Back then, the Virginia Beach Fire Department felt like a family fire department.

I didn’t want to come off as arrogant because I didn’t want to appear weak in the chief’s eyes. His experience would tell him otherwise. His next words will forever be etched in my mind: “Buddy, you are a great firefighter and an outstanding company officer. The problem is that I need a chief, not an outstanding company officer.” Talk about a reality check. I had some soul-searching to do.

I shared my disappointment with my father. He suggested I go back and find out what it was the other guy had that I didn’t. At the very least, I would have some idea of the kind of chief the department was looking for in a first-time chief officer. So, that is exactly what I did.

It turned out that the other guy Chief Diezel picked over me was the better choice. R. B. Alley, who was stationed with me at the Oceanfront Station #11 at the time of the promotion, had accomplished much more professionally than I had. R. B. had a bachelor’s degree, while I was still stuck in my 10-year associate degree program. He spent time in training and the Fire Marshal’s Office. He attended the National Fire Academy and participated in many department committees and work groups. In the final analysis, it became perfectly clear to me that while I was working for the Virginia Beach Fire Department, Chief Alley was working on his career. He was making the sacrifices that, up to that point in time, I was not willing to make. He was a very well-rounded fire department employee.

I’m the guy who, by luck and God’s good graces, had managed to find his way in life. The problem is that you can only go so far without putting in the hard work that is required to be successful at the higher levels of any profession. If you want to be successful, you must work very hard. Sacrifices must be made, and the sacrifices, it turns out, are many.