By Corley Moore
One of my all-time favorite quotes comes from Mike Walker, deputy chief of operations for the Oklahoma City (OK) Fire Department. It concerns an organization’s minimum standards and is a quote I have loved to use in the past. I have taken this quote and placed it into photographs and shared it on social media. Its message has always been thought-provoking and challenging. I have taken this quote and thrown it down like a gauntlet as a challenge to those who believe in just skating by. I have used this quote to try and push those I am responsible for leading, to try and motivate them.
For years this was my rallying cry, I loved this quote and I would use it often to try and prove a point in the never-ending fight against complacency. Think on that quote for a moment—if a person is happy meeting the minimum, they are just a tiny step away from inadequacy. A person who is content and satisfied with meeting the minimum requirements should terrify everyone they work with. Meeting the minimum standard is living next door to incompetence. I always loved this amazing mindset towards the minimum standard.
Then I had the privilege of listening to Frank Viscuso speak. Frank is a retired deputy chief out of Kearny, New Jersey, and one of the most gifted public speakers in the fire service. The class I was able to attend was a short ninety-minute lecture, a version of his “FLASH POINT: Ignite Your Team and Forge a Winning Culture” class. I was blown away first and foremost by the class, but specifically on a point that Chief Viscuso made during the class:
What an amazing mindset toward minimum standards! I had never heard of an approach like this in an organization. It was a revelation to me. My problem with coasters and those meeting the minimum was because the minimum was just set too low!
Here we have two brilliant quotes, both dealing with minimum standards in an organization, both seemingly opposed to each other. I love both these men, and I love both of their quotes. Two giants of the fire service, both Mike Walker and Frank Viscuso have given keynote speeches on the largest stage of the fire service, the big show itself, FDIC International. Mike Walker’s keynote address was called the “Fireman’s Standard” and is a video I pull up to show to new recruits who have been assigned to my battalion.
In 2022, Frank Viscuso gave the phenomenal keynote speech “It’s Time to Step Up,” where he challenged everyone to develop an ownership mentality—a mindset that is becoming rare in modern society.
Both men have had a huge impact on my personal growth, and I value their insight. How does a person choose between the two? Which quote should a person embrace? Which of the quotes is the right attitude to have?
Is minimum next to inadequate?
Is it because the standard is too low?
Which one is right?
Wait…can they both be true?
Now we are on to something. This does not have to be a zero-sum game. Both of these quotes can exist and be powerful, and most importantly, both can be true.
Minimum can absolutely be sitting one small step above inadequate. If that is where the bar rests, however, then shame on the organization, the leadership, and everyone who has allowed the minimum standard to reach that point. I know Mike Walker personally and I know his organization intimately, and this is not the case in his department. His quote, however, was not aimed inwardly; it was a challenge, a dare to the American fire service to examine their standard and see if they were settling for an unacceptable minimum.
In reality, these quotes go hand in hand with each other. They represent a beautiful dichotomy that forces each of us to examine the standards within our department. What are we allowing our coasters to be? Are they skating the edge next to the precipice of inadequacy? Or has the bar been set so that those who meet it are rockstars?
When the standards are low, high performers become very frustrated. This frustration can lead to checking out or giving up, especially when a high performer feels powerless to make a change. Mike Walker’s quote is a rallying cry, however, so that a person can say: “I reject the minimum standard of my organization. I refuse to live one small step above inadequate. Others can wallow there, but not me, and not those I am responsible for.”
Frank Viscuso’s quote, on the other hand, is that light at the end of the tunnel. It is that beacon to strive towards through the darkness of low performance standards. A paradise to work to build so that one day even the coasters in the organization are rockstars. A vision to share with others so that together you can all work to make it happen.
Disgust and glory.
Rejection and acceptance.
Inadequate and rockstar
This is the dichotomy of minimum standards.
Which one will it be in your organization?
Corley Moore is a battalion chief with the Moore (OK) Fire Department and has 25 years in the fire service. He is the founder of Firehouse Vigilance and host of the Weekly Scrap podcast.
