What would a fire and emergency services department look like if it where operated like a business, where return on investments, profit and loss, research and development, and cost versus benefit were considered as frequently as safety and training, strategy and tactics, and risk versus benefit?

In reality, fire chiefs are CEOs of small, medium or large businesses. They report to a board of directors — in their case local council or commissioners — and they need to satisfy customers' needs. While many fire chiefs do not compete for customers, they do compete for funding. Success in business starts with a strong leader; success in fire and emergency services starts with a person who understands the business of being chief.

I once wrote about Milton Hershey for a business degree assignment. When I chose him as my subject, I knew only two things about him — he made a plain milk chocolate bar and sometimes he added nuts. Like most successful people, outsiders could see results of their life without knowing anything about that life. But understanding the inner qualities of a successful business leader can help us as chief officers, so here are some of my observations about Milton Hershey.

There was nothing in Hershey's upbringing that destined him for greatness, but everything in his past motivated him. He didn't always succeed, but he was not deterred by failure. When he achieved success, he was willing to give it up to achieve greater success. He didn't necessarily plan every step before he took a course of action. He did not have a marketing department, but he understood how to get Hershey products in the mind of customers. He knew that diversification was necessary for long-term success. He prevented future failures by solving past problems, and he did not horde his wealth but used his assets to make life better for others.

Business leaders don't let the past dictate the future. Hershey was a product of a broken home, his sister died when he was a child, and he quit school when he was 12. He experienced failure and humiliation in his attempts to succeed. His father was a dreamer but never achieved success, so when Hershey failed he was guilty by association. In spite of his past, he achieved great success.

If Hershey were alive today, I believe he would offer the follwing lessons about the business of being a chief officer:

Lesson 1] A fire chief's vision of the future must be stronger than the past. Business leaders aren't afraid to fail. Hershey's first two businesses failed despite his knowledge, ability and drive. He truly believed in Henry Ford's statement, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.” After each failure he sought improvement and optimistically began again.

Lesson 2] Fire chiefs need to move from success to greater success. Chiefs will experience failure, but the exceptional ones aren't paralyzed by it. When Hershey made it big, it was in caramel, not chocolate. Hershey attended Chicago's Columbian Exposition in 1893 and saw a new future after he witnessed a man making chocolate. He bought the chocolate-making equipment at the exposition, sold his caramel company, and placed all his resources in creating and producing milk chocolate.

Lesson 3] Fire chiefs need to continue to re-invent themselves and their organizations. Today's success does not translate into tomorrow's success. Business leaders sometime must start down a path without knowing all the facts. Hershey began to build a chocolate factory without a recipe. No one in the United States was making milk chocolate and the recipe was a closely guarded Swiss secret. It took months to build the factory and it was a race to see if a recipe would be perfected before the factory was completed. The factory and recipe came together at the same time.

Lesson 4] Fire chiefs need to take advantage of fleeting opportunities and plan as they go. Business leaders market their products. Hershey did not have a marketing department but he had a simple method of promoting his product. In Emperors of Chocolate, Joël Glenn Brenner tells a story of Hershey's method of advertising. “Legend has it that whenever Milton Hershey saw one of his company's nickel-bar wrappers on the ground, instead of throwing it away he turned it face up — his way of advertising.”

Lesson 5] Fire chiefs need to be ready to offer diverse services. Fire chiefs are a department's chief promoter and spokesperson. It is necessary to create and maintain a positive image of service and it will translate into the finances and good will that drives community service. Hershey began with a milk chocolate bar, and it is still a popular product, but to stay competitive he added more chocolate and non-chocolate products.

Lesson 6] Fire chiefs need to eliminate problems. A fire chief in the 1950s did not know that they would be providing EMS and hazmat, technical rescue and emergency preparedness services. So what is the next service? Business looks internationally for trends and innovative concepts, and fire chiefs must read, network and travel to see beyond their current service model. Hershey's first two business ventures failed because of the price of sugar. He solved the problem by purchasing Cuban sugar plantations when he had the means. The plantations not only provided for Hershey's needs but he sold sugar to Coca Cola for many years.

Lesson 7] Fire chiefs need to be creative. When fire chiefs solve problems, the ideal solution does not only fix the immediate problem but has additional benefits. Hershey developed a non-dairy ice cream called Victory Whip and it is said that it could have competed against the ice cream industry. Victory Whip was never sold, however, because he did not want to take business away from dairy owners who supplied him with vast quantities of milk for his chocolate.

Lesson 8] Fire chiefs need to take care of their people. They should look for services that meet a community's need but may have nothing to do with traditional fire and emergency services. Hershey created a company town where employees could work, own a home and raise a family. He realized that if his employees were concerned with daily living, it would take focus and energy away from the company. By taking care of his employees he took care of his customers.

Lesson 9] Fire chiefs need to know that they will not always do everything right. They need to create an environment so employees see themselves as a community serving a community. Hershey built an efficient factory but as the company grew so did the factory. The factory became more labor intensive with each addition, which resulted in reduced efficiency and lower profit margins. He stayed with the current model of doing business long after it was useful.

The personal growth of a chief officer translates into organizational growth. The business of being a chief officer is a journey, and about the time chiefs think they have arrived, they see there is more to learn. Chiefs do not know everything and admitting that is the first step toward knowing more. Fortunately there are many leaders, both in fire and emergency services and business, to provide guidance along the way.

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Deputy Fire Chief Bob Van Horne is a 27-year veteran of the Renton (Wash.) Fire and Emergency Services Department, where he currently serves as the director of safety and support services. He has an associate's degree in fire command and administration and a bachelor's degree in business administration.