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Decision Making

These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to decision making.

Are You Assuming Risk or Creating Risk?

I recently read an article where the author was taking exception to the risk management maxim: ‘We will risk a lot to save a lot and risk little to save little.’ There are several variations on this maxim, including: ‘Great risks will be taken to save savable lives; Moderate risks will be taken to save […]

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Episode 172 | Confirmation Bias

This episode explores the challenges of how confirmation bias can impact situational awareness. Length: 28 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen       _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy. CLICK HERE for details,

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Appoint a DA to improve your SA

In the business world it is not uncommon for executives to appoint someone on the senior staff to serve as the Devil’s Advocate (DA) when considering a major strategic decision. The role of the DA is to look at the strategy from a critical perspective and to raise objections about flaws in the strategy before

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Situational Awareness Matters

Another False Alarm: A Tale of Complacency

Complacency is a big deal for first responders because it impacts your situational awareness on multiple levels. I would like to give every responder the benefit of the doubt that if or when they have found him or herself being complacent that it wasn’t happening on purpose. In other words, I hope every responder desires

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Episode170 | Interview with Brad Davidson

Brad Davidson is an industrial firefighter who was conducting an inspection on a furnace when his intuition told him something was wrong. This episode chronicles how trusting his intuition may have saved his life. Length: 49 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational

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Episode 169 | Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 5

Albert Einstein is credited with saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” This is the final segment of a 5-part series that explores situational awareness insanity. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational

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Aggressiveness and Situational Awareness

I was recently contacted by email from a Situational Awareness Matters member asking if aggressiveness and safety can co-exist at an emergency scene. My answer was “of course they can.” The two actions, being safe and being aggressive are not mutually exclusive. To think they are is to believe responders must sacrifice safety when they

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Episode 168 | Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 4

Albert Einstein is credited with saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” This is Part 4 of a 5-part series that explores situational awareness insanity. Length: 23 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness

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Aggressive versus conservative

There is an ongoing debate in the fire service. Unless you are unplugged from social media and online journals, you’re surely aware of it. On one end of the argument are those who believe the fire service is tactically too aggressive and purport this may be contributing to casualties. On the other side of the

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Episode 167 | Situational Awareness Insanity – Part 3

Albert Einstein is credited with saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.” This is Part 3 of a 5-part series that explores situational awareness insanity. Length: 30 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen     _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness

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