Bad Decisions Are Still Bad Decisions No Matter The Intention
There is nothing easy about performing under stress, particularly when that stress is the difference between life and death. I think it is about time we moved away from making bad decisions that feel good and work towards doing the hard work towards better performance.
Don’t Compound The Crazy
My biggest complaint about the craziness we are seeing is the terrible decision making. The vast majority of politictians and community “leaders” are the last people who should be making suggestions outside of their area of expertise. In many cases, they do not know thier ass from a hole in the ground. I tempered that statement quite a bit. But, it is absolutely true. They are not the best people to making decisions that could negatively impact their communities becuase they are incapable of seeing the big picture. I’d really like it if they all grabbed a giant cup of shut the hell up.
Stay Out Of The Way
One of my favorite presidents, in fact role models as a kid was President Theodore Roosevelt. One of my favorite quotes from him was “The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” This is not happening in the vast majority of our large cities and metropolitan areas. The problem is how can you take credit for something if you don’t get involved and how can you deflect blame if can’t point fingers. My sincere wish is to see better leadership who seek out the true experts on the subject in question. They seek council because they are not ego driven. They listen because they recognize they don’t know everything. But most important, they make the right decision…not the popular decision.
Being Able To Look Far Enough Forward
What I have seen done to our law enforcement is an embaressment. I have tried to affect positive change in my sphere of influence, but it is hard to make macro changes at the micro level. When I get pulled aside and asked a question as it pertains to my ares of expertise I take it seriously. I’m objective in my response knowing the information I provide is important to informed decision making. I strain my answers through two filters. What is reasonable and what is sustainable. Often times, I can provide plenty of responses that are reasonable. The real problem is what is sustainable. If you have been in the business long enough you realize it is not about the beginning, it is about the end. Too many times I have seen programs developed that sounded good on paper, might have been executed well in the beginning, but over time became unsustainable due to a variety of reasons. Most of those reasons should have been clear enough for the decision makers to see, but often times they fail to look far enough down the road.
Infinite Levels Of Stupid
Recently it was brought to my attention how a law enforcement department was pursuing a new program to “shoot to incapacitate.” I could write volumes on how bad of an idea this is, but it will fall on deaf ears because there is a lack of true leadership. Leadership, that doesn’t cower to public opinion. That fails to put the welfare of their subordinates as well as the public as a priority. To use deadly force for any other option other than deadly force is mistake that will have ripple effects across so many different lines. The reality is asinine policies such as these will gain attention. This attention will feed their faulty decision making matrix. Breeding belief in their plan, despite so many opposing views. There is no good outcome from these types of feel good policies. There is only the public at large continuining to suffer and loose faith in their elected officials and public servants.
You Get Out Of It What You Put In
Again, when I look at this decision I look at it from a macro level. The biggest question I have is how do they intend on implementing this program along with how do they intend on sustaining. We already know law enforcement suffer from a lack of training. Firearms qualification, whatever the interval is often repurposed as training. Rather than address the issue, standards are adjusted. I get how hard it is to run any type of qualification program where failure to qualify could be dismisal. It shouldn’t matter the outcome. When I think about this policy or other similar policies I have three questions. How much resources do you intend on allocating to ensure success? How will you define success? What are the consequences for failure?
My intention was not to draw a disparging light to those who are undertaking one of the most important jobs within our nation. My intention was to voice my frustration in the hopes of preventing this type of leadership making bad decisions from taking root elsewhere.
