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The type of person who consistently pulls off these sorts of tasks, is someone I call "the firefighter". Every good organization has one, the person you call w

The type of person who consistently pulls off these sorts of tasks, is someone I call "the firefighter". Every good organization has one, the person you call when all hope is nearly lost. The one who always manages to salvage the failing project, to fix that bug before the demo, etc. The article is a great "how to" on becoming "the firefighter" in any situation. In my experience the big one that people miss is "take an active part". So many people when they hit the wall don't put themselves into the middle of the problem, and just hope that everyone else will follow through in time. Great article!

swombat 18y ago
I hadn't seen it that way.. "the firefighter".. Thanks for sharing that angle, it's a good way to put it. And you're right, every organisation needs one of those.
DavidMcLaughlin 18y ago
If you really want to enjoy your job, learning how to become the 'Fire Prevention and Safety Officer' is much more rewarding. Firefighter, janitor, whatever you call it: either way you end up cleaning up someone else's mess.
TJensen 18y ago
While I often seem to be in the role of firefighter, it is one I despise. The more the firefighter saves the day, the more people play with matches in the gasoline refinery.
- tannerburson 18y ago
  I've seen it go both ways. In some cases people come to rely on this person's intervention, but in others it's seen as a badge of failure to have to call in the "firefighter". I think it all comes down to how management handles the situation, as well as the dynamics of the group itself.
gills 18y ago
My former tech lead was like this, and it seemed like impossibilities just did not exist for him. It was very inspiring. One of the reasons I left that job for this silly wild goose chase of starting a business was to force myself to learn some of these skills the hard way, rather than letting someone else magically handle the problems.

swombat 18y ago

I hadn't seen it that way.. "the firefighter".. Thanks for sharing that angle, it's a good way to put it. And you're right, every organisation needs one of those.

DavidMcLaughlin 18y ago

If you really want to enjoy your job, learning how to become the 'Fire Prevention and Safety Officer' is much more rewarding. Firefighter, janitor, whatever you call it: either way you end up cleaning up someone else's mess.

TJensen 18y ago

While I often seem to be in the role of firefighter, it is one I despise. The more the firefighter saves the day, the more people play with matches in the gasoline refinery.

tannerburson 18y ago
I've seen it go both ways. In some cases people come to rely on this person's intervention, but in others it's seen as a badge of failure to have to call in the "firefighter". I think it all comes down to how management handles the situation, as well as the dynamics of the group itself.

gills 18y ago

My former tech lead was like this, and it seemed like impossibilities just did not exist for him. It was very inspiring. One of the reasons I left that job for this silly wild goose chase of starting a business was to force myself to learn some of these skills the hard way, rather than letting someone else magically handle the problems.