What is your organizational definition of strategy? Is it emergency response or administratively based? What is a strategic plan?

Like many other organizations, the Glendale (Ariz.) Fire Department once focused on a definition of strategy that was used only in conjunction with fireground tactics. That's not to say that strategy isn't used daily by the fire chief in political situations or by fellow administrative chief officers to accomplish a goal for their division, but if questioned, many personnel would correlate strategy and its implementation only to an emergency response application.

A change in organizational application of strategy, and more specifically strategic planning, was needed because two major sporting venues were built in the jurisdiction. The Jobing.com Arena has a maximum seating capacity of 17,500, hosts concerts and sporting events, and is home to the National Hockey League's Phoenix Coyotes. The University of Phoenix Stadium seats 73,000, hosted the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and 2007 Bowl Championship Series, and next year will host the Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowl XLII. These venues and associated events have forced the department to begin planning strategically for service delivery, not only at these venues during major events, but also throughout the jurisdiction before, during and after the events.

The department was compelled to address operational response and service delivery changes due to the increased workload and responsibility surrounding the construction of the venues in our community. Organizations that desire to successfully address strategic planning must be willing to accept change. The Harvard Business Essentials series book Strategy: Create and Implement the Best Strategy for Your Business states:

“A change-ready company is adaptive and prepared by structure and temperament to discard what is not working and move to strategies capable of better results.” This book says that a change-ready company has these characteristics:

• Managers are respected and effective.
• People feel personally motivated to change.
• The organization is nonhierarchical.
• People are accustomed to collaborative work.
• There is a culture of accountability for results.
• Performance is rewarded.

Fire chiefs should direct their organizations to achieve all of these characteristics, with the sole exception of the third bullet. Although the fire service structure is hierarchical, any organization can overcome potential challenges and regulatory limitations by embracing a cooperative labor-management process.

Glendale is fortunate to share a contiguous border with the Phoenix Fire Department, which has developed a planning section. This section led Glendale through the labyrinth of mega-event planning. It also has gently guided the department through the complex and confusing intricacies of Incident Command System forms that are an enormous challenge for non-Forest Service personnel.

Additionally, the planning section is assisting fire departments in the Valley of the Sun with obtaining i-300 and i-400 ICS training by hosting the training and providing all components of the course including locations, materials, food, and instructors. The department is conducting the classes with nationally qualified Type-I and -II Incident Management Team personnel as instructors, which provides qualified not just “certified” instructors. The instructors' qualifications help provide a realistic learning environment for students where real-life applications are integrated with the mandatory didactic information.

Glendale successfully completed an accreditation re-evaluation in March. It's important to understand the process of completing annual reports for the accreditation process and the synergy that can be created by aligning a five-year strategic plan and the accreditation process. Furthermore, by creating a strategic plan and aligning it with the accreditation process, the fire chief has documentation that can support budgetary requests. If the requests are validated by the CPSE accreditation assessment, the fire chief has endorsement by an outside agency to support the department's needs.

It's not a requirement for the National Incident Management System, but adding a planning section to a department can assist personnel with understanding that all functions both in emergency response and administrative function fall under the four ics sections: operations, logistics, planning, and administration and finance. An example of this organizational process can be demonstrated with Glendale's current organizational challenges. In the department, the accreditation process, fire prevention, special-event planning and strategic planning would be coordinated by the planning section.

Currently, the accreditation process, budget development and strategic planning are facilitated by the budget director. Special-event planning is coordinated in a separate division under the operations chief. Fire prevention is an independent division under the fire marshal's office. Coordinating these divisions and processes in one section will create synergy and efficiency within the department, especially for the large events at the sporting venues. Reorganizing a department in this manner may require additional work, but in the future can pay huge dividends.

Strategic planning can't be completed in a vacuum by administrators, without involving the respective labor group. Successful strategic planning will be accomplished only if the personnel tasked with implementing necessary operational changes have an opportunity to contribute their input. Strategy: Create and Implement the Best Strategy for Your Business states:

“Strategic creation takes time and requires a series of back-and-forth communications between senior management and operating units, whereby all parties examine, discuss, and refine the plan.… The importance of involvement of operating units in the strategic planning processes cannot be overemphasized. People in the operating units can make informed recommendations about what the company should be doing and where it should be going. Furthermore, units that are included in the planning process are more likely to support and implement the plans that are created.… By undertaking the planning process together, senior management and unit leaders ensure that a company's strategies — corporate and unit — are tightly aligned and that successful implementation can follow.”

This is a perfect example of a successful labor-management process. Replace the word unit with labor, corporate with management, and company with fire department and the result will be a portrait of an effective labor-management-driven organization.

Strategy and strategic planning should be applied in everyday administrative functions as well as on the fire ground. If an organization is accredited through the cpse but can't develop a planning section, the accreditation manager's life easier will be made easier by implementing and maintaining a strategic plan that aligns with your five-year accreditation review. As the 6th century Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu wrote: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

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Chris DeChant is the training division chief for the Glendale (Ariz.) Fire Department, where he has served for 11 years. He holds associate's degrees in fire science and advanced emergency medical technology, a bachelor's degree in public safety administration, and a master's degree in educational leadership.

Strategy Defined

In The Executive Guide to Strategic Planning, Patrick J. Below, George L. Morrisey and Betty L. Acomb define strategic planning as:

“… [A] framework for carrying out strategic thinking, direction, and action leading to the achievement of consistent and planned results. Seven specific elements comprise this framework: organization mission, strategic analysis, strategy, long-term objectives, integrated programs, financial projections [and] executive summary.

“… A distinctive aspect of this process is its emphasis on team planning. It is this process that builds organizationwide belief and commitment to the strategic plan because the participants have ownership.”