Have you ever heard the phrase, “we understand your need Chief, but we don’t have the money?” Spend enough time in a leadership role and this phrase will find its way to you. Organically, financial managers of our respective cities or fire districts are built to be conservative, with a sprinkle of doom and gloom.
A Finance Officer’s job is to manage risk to the organization’s financial sustainability, the same way we as Fire Chiefs manage risk to the community. There are times when we need to heed their warnings, but what about those times where we want to question their forecast? Where we want to scream, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”
To be effective in this space, we need to learn to speak their language. Effective Fire Chiefs have learned to go beyond threats of mayhem and carnage if their needs are not met, and instead can speak eloquently on return on investment, data pertinent to service level delivery, and how a certain request can improve the lives (both personally and/or financially) of community members. That may pose the question of, where do I start?
The mission of the Western Fire Chiefs Association is to Lead, Educate, Support, and Protect. Recently we held a one-hour live webinar with Dr. Anirban Basu, a leading economist in the State of Maryland and a respected national voice in economic forecasting. In this webinar, Dr. Basu provided critical indicators and other key economic information Fire Chiefs can use when thinking about the micro/macro economy, economic growth by state, hard data on inflationary trends, etc.
It’s always a bit amusing when you can surprise a Chief Financial Officer or Budget Manager with some economic wisdom – something they don’t expect from “just a Fire Chief.” Beyond that enjoyment, you will gain instant respect by simply demonstrating your willingness to engage in their world beyond basic revenue and expenditure discussions. This requires you, the Fire Chief, to intentionally find time to pursue this education. Great leaders are never satisfied with their level of understanding about all things fire related. At your leadership level, it’s time to move past fire flow and into finance and economic flow!
When you take the time to develop a deeper understanding of local and state economics, you can help move the needle from fear to facts. You can have professional and educated conversations, even debates, when your research points to something different than the doom and gloom predictions you may be presented with. You can come prepared with budgetary requests that not only include relevant data and community benefit, but also a deeper understanding of local economic conditions that decision makers will no doubt be concerned with. If you want to excel one step further, come with a request fully baked instead of one still sitting in the blender. Develop a detailed implementation plan that demonstrates “shovel ready” to both groups that control the checkbook. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Let’s get started on this journey in gaining a deeper understanding of economic indicators to which you should be paying attention. Below is a link to the recording of the recent WFCA webinar featuring Dr. Basu of the Sage Policy Group. When you’re done, sign up for the newsletter found in the presentation.
Stay educated, get better, rinse and repeat!
Click Here to View Full Recording