Official Review: Light a Fire under Your Business

[Eutoc]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Light a Fire under Your Business" by Tom Pandola.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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One would have thought that firefighting was as straightforward as putting off a fire outbreak by using water from a nearby hydrant. But this is a far cry from the numerous principles and sequential processes firefighters heed to before the execution of a task. Tom Pandola and James W. Bird share in Light a Fire under Your Business how these firefighting principles can be successfully applied to improve leadership and management in any organization.

Tom started by narrating how he and other recruits in the firefighting academy were sent to a dark smoky basement of their training building, where they carried out a task that got them used to a firefighting environment. Not only did this task teach them the value of teamwork, but it also instilled in them an unyielding trust in their captains. These recruits worked in tandem with their captains to attain high-performance results by using a simple success formula: success = CPR+RR, which stands for Command, Plan, Respond, Review and Revise, respectively. Tom was able to show that this success formula can also provide a strategic thought process in organizations. Just as the firefighting mission statement – to save lives and protect property – guides firefighters, mission statements could serve as a means of empowering employees to work towards a common cause to increase productivity in a workplace.

This book is rich in knowledge, thanks to the combined fifty years of experience in firefighting from both authors. I never knew a pragmatic approach to firefighting could have a lot of practical applications in business management. Each chapter had a real-life firefighting scenario that underscored the main idea of that chapter, which enabled the reader to see how these firefighting principles played out. If nothing else, anyone who is a leader in a business environment should pick up that getting the “perfect employees” is more exhausting than creating a favourable culture that would improve processes and empower even an average employee.

While this book is targeted to business management professionals, the principles can also be applied on an individual level. One doesn’t need to be in a corporate setting to gain from this narrative. It was shown that individuals could set up a personal Goal Assurance System (GAS), a task execution metric in firefighting, to complete mundane tasks, such as leaving for work at a predetermined time. Therefore, I would recommend this piece to business leaders and also to individuals who would be interested in having a systematic approach to problem-solving either in their personal affairs or at work.

Light a Fire under Your Business is impeccably edited. I didn’t find any errors while reading through the book. I gladly rate this narrative 4 out of 4 stars. I feel jealous that the profound knowledge contained in this book didn’t come from an engineering discipline. Other than my meagre jealousy, there isn’t anything I disliked about this book. I enjoyed reading the book and the lessons that I learnt from it.

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Light a Fire under Your Business
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[Abi_kanda]

I once saw a documentary about fire fighting but I think reading would be much better. Great review!

[Jennifer Aldo]

Collating principles of firefighting that could be applied to professional and individual lives is commendable. I would never have been able to relate the two. I'd like to read the book, and their experience in the field makes it golden.

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

"I never knew a pragmatic approach to firefighting could have a lot of practical applications in business management." - You and me both! Thanks to your review, we now have some idea. Great job.

[Raluca_Mihaila]

I am so glad that I discovered this book! I am quite obsessed with this topic, since I started watching movies about firefighting . So thank you so much for your recommendation and your great review!

[Kirsi Cultrera]

This is a very interesting approach to business life, I don’t recall hearing of such before. But it makes perfect sense now when I think about it, and I really would like to read more about this author’s thoughts. I remember from my former working years that it felt like my job was locating and putting down small fires everywhere before they would explode to a total disaster.

Thanks for introducing this book and writing such an insightful review!

[kandscreeley]

Interesting. I've never seen firefighting compared to running a business. How interesting! Thanks.

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for your engaging review. It's hard to relate firefighting to business management, but it looks like the author has done a good job.

[Saint Bruno]

I am sure business owners will find this book very beneficial. Thanks a lot for the insightful review and recommendation.

[Chigo Nwagboso]

Thanks a detailed review. I believe this book will be beneficial to whole lot of people.

[Gift5]

Wow, i would love to see how firefighting principles can be applied to a business. Thanks for the detailed review.

[TheMazeRunner]

I love the title of this book. For everyone who needs a little push in their business, this is a perfect book for them!

[Lila Randhawa]

Firefighting principles applied to improve business management - interesting concept. The success formula and GAS looks useful even in regular life. Thanks for the insightful review. I am glad you enjoyed reading the book.

[AvidBibliophile]

So unique that this one uses firefighting principles, scenarios, and success formulas to help teach leadership skills, all while providing tips for increasing productivity in the workplace! A fascinating approach to fiery management practices.

[Justine Ocsebio]

The idea of applying firefighting principles to professional and individual lives sounds really intriguing. Thanks for the insightful review!