The job of fire chief is never easy; it never has been and it never will be. It can be a lonely job, but you are not alone. Among the fire service's mentors and educators, one chief has focused half of his life helping chiefs and aspiring chiefs understand their crucial role within their departments and communities, and that chief is Ronny J. Coleman.

Fire Chief published its first column by Chief Coleman 20 years ago. As the story goes, Coleman's article had been rejected by another industry journal because it was too controversial. In a late night conversation with Fire Chief's then-editor Bill Randleman, Ron groused about how his story was rejected for “telling it like it is.” Randleman replied that he wasn't afraid of controversy and would publish the article. Shortly thereafter, Chief's Clipboard made its debut, and it continues to be Fire Chief's most popular column.

This month, we are pleased to announce that Jones & Bartlett is publishing a new book, Chief's Clipboard: 20 Years of Ron Coleman. In his years writing for Fire Chief, Coleman has focused on topics that every chief — and more importantly, future chiefs — needs to digest. The columns are almost one-on-one tutorials that are sometimes motivational, sometimes educational and sometimes Dutch uncle. Coleman speaks from experience and never talks down to his readers.

The collected Chief's Clipboard columns cover management, leadership and marketing. The first column in the book is “Reality of Management,” originally published in 1987: “The reality of fire service management today is that it's not as much fun as it used to be.” Winds of change in 1987? Coleman offered ground rules that still apply today:

• Management is a survival game.
• You can't climb the ladder of success as a group.
• Everybody expects more out of you.
• None of the real rewards are monetary.
• Management's job is to change things.

What does he have to say about problems? “I suspect many of you find that no matter how carefully you plan your day, somebody manages to drag something in, throw it on your desk and create an immediate problem. What's a chief to do?”

Trust? “If you promise someone that you're going to do something but fail to do so, trust begins to erode within the organization. No one can be 100% reliable, but if you make 100 promises and only deliver on two of them, you are only 2% reliable.”

Time management? “One thing is certain. No matter how much time is left between now and the end of the universe, some project will be left unfinished.”

Even 20 years ago, Coleman was on to health and fitness: “It is difficult for some fire chiefs to believe that the mental and emotional work that goes into ‘chiefing’ can reduce their capacity for good health and mental welfare. Fatigue and stress are often mistaken for one another. Stress is usually something that results in fatigue — not the other way around.”

The interesting thing about these columns is that while they were written to the leadership of the fire service, they apply to the leadership of any type of organization. They're drawn from Coleman's varied experiences, filtered through a wide variety of sources: Stephen Hawking, Sun Tzu and the Harvard Business Review.

In Coleman's “The Badge,” published in 1991, he writes about the several hundred years of heritage and symbolism: “Unfortunately, many people have lost sight of this. Their perception of the badge focuses on attaining the position, rather than fulfilling the associated responsibility.”

Take a look at your gold badge. Those bugles point up, down and around, symbolic of how a chief has to listen and talk to all levels. No matter what size the gold badge, it won't shield you from verbal bullets, it won't protect your heart and it leaves your back vulnerable. I'm always amazed at how heavy a badge is, let alone a gold one — it needs to be.

Twenty years of Chief Ron Coleman, timeless wisdom from a good friend. Thank you, Ron, and Happy Anniversary!