Do common expressions such as “don't sweat the small stuff” and “the devil is in the details” apply to today's organizational culture in the fire service? Maybe the small stuff is what matters most. It is the small stuff that will become a big deal. Tracing the root cause of any problem will more than likely lead to the point where the small stuff should have mattered. Maybe not today, but the devil probably will come out at some point in the details.

An organization's culture is shaped over time and everyone plays a role in its development. Admittedly, leadership has the tendency to cause more rapid shifts in organizational culture than do efforts from the bottom. But does this leadership necessarily have to be formal or from the top? A rapid shift in an organization's culture usually follows an event with a traumatic result or a controversy often caused by internal conflict or external pressure.

Consider the following possibilities. What if the fire prevention bureau ran training for all new recruits? What if the operations division had responsibility for code enforcement, and therefore resident and firefighter safety? What if the training department managed community outreach with public education going well beyond second grade?

Here is a story that, at the very least, will create a healthy debate, which is good for any department or profession. As Jim Collins says in his book Good to Great, organizations need fierce debate to improve. The challenge in fierce debate is that the closer one gets to the top levels of management, the less meaningful feedback he or she receives, especially from those who should give it. Some will read this story and believe the fire chief over reacted. Some will say that he exercised leadership. Others might say what he did doesn't matter. The truth is that we may never know.

There is a department training academy that includes both active personnel and recruits. It is a part of the academy's organizational culture to let the recruits design their own T-shirts for their class. There also is a standard, however, that recruits wear only orange shirts — no official blue shirts until after academy graduation.

A chief fire officer attending a training session takes a seat in the classroom. He sees that everyone in the room is wearing blue shirts. He recalls noticing a recruit wearing what from the front looked like the official department uniform T-shirt. What strikes the chief is the design on the back of the T-shirts. They have gothic letters that are a direct policy violation because the name of the department isn't properly expressed and displayed. The image displayed seems a little childish, but he remembers his younger days. The slogan on the shirt, “Get Strong or Get Gone,” seems to promote an attitude of exclusiveness not inclusiveness. The chief thinks that it wasn't a big deal and that he should get over it. He thinks it doesn't make a difference and that he shouldn't risk his popularity for it.

But later the chief changes his mind. He remembers recent fire-related headlines that he had read. One headline announced that a female firefighter collapsed during a live burn. Another said that a severely burned firefighter lacked proper training. Yet another called out a hazing event that left a recruit in a coma.

With these headlines fresh in his mind, the chief wants to jump up immediately and emotionally address the problem. But reacting with emotion, anger, frustration and confusion is usually the wrong thing to do. Instead, the chief asks the instructor for the last hour of the day. This gives the chief the rest of the day to formulate and evaluate a decision and to prepare an approach to the perceived problem.

The training class concludes and the instructor tells the class to take a little break and come back for a presentation by the chief. The chief presents examples of the recent headlines that resulted in death and injury. He says that the overall outcomes of the events conveyed in these headlines do not benefit the residents. If conducted in the correct manner with the correct attitude and intent, these similar examples provide value-added service. The cases the chief presents, however, directly contradict national standards as well as the National Fallen Firefighters Foundations' Life-Safety Initiatives.

The chief says that the group will replace the shirts; the recruits can design their new shirts as long as they are in line with the vision, mission and values of the department. The chief also says that all shirts must be accounted for and delivered to his office for disposal. At the conclusion of the chief's statements, there is no debate and only some clarification questions asked.

Yes, there was some hype following the session, talk ensued and sides were taken. The next officers' meeting brought out the debate, which turned out healthy. The focus of the vision, mission and values of the department were discussed. The past practices and future expectations of the department were challenged, but positive results transitioned the debate to dialogue. Of course it is difficult to know if the issue was really settled, how many of the crew bought into the outcome, how many attitudes were changed and if there will be any impact on future actions.

This brings us back full circle to this being a small stuff issue. Did the T-shirts, which could be considered a small issue, really matter? Was this issued handled properly? What if this issue was let go? Would it result in death or injury? Would it make diversity in the organization more challenging? Does the small stuff matter and was this small stuff?

Wherever fire chiefs gather, it's easy to find a discussion regarding culture and the shifts seen in this business. Chiefs can influence, guide and lead their respective departments in these issues. The next issue they face may have nothing to do with the small stuff; it might be a big issue, and the choices made on the small stuff will drive the big stuff in the right direction. Sometimes the small stuff is not so small and the devil is in the details. The image that chiefs project matters, even when it's something as simple and yet detailed as a T-shirt.

Shane Ray is chief of the Pleasant View (Tenn.) Volunteer Fire Department and Associate Director of Public Fire Protection for the National Fire Sprinkler Association. He began his fire service career in 1984, and was mayor of Pleasant View for six years. Ray received a bachelor's degree in fire protection administration with a minor in political science. Ray also completed the John F. Kennedy School of Government's senior executives program, the University of Maryland's leadership development program, and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. He began teaching at the National Fire Academy in 2001, and was the 2005 FIRE CHIEF Volunteer Chief of the Year.