Customer Reviews

First In, Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department

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Salka's advice is modeled on the leadership lessons of the New York City Fire Department. He takes many of the basic principles of effective leadership that are used to define the officers of FDNY and applies it to real life situations that can be used at any level of leadership by comparing these situations to those faced by the firefighters and their daily battles.

This book's real strength comes from Salka's approach: he writes to the front line supervisor/manager, the folks who are often on the first tier of management. While many books, as good as they are, assume that the reader is in a position to affect policy and choose their entire team, "First In" speaks to managers whose responsibility is the daily performance of the staff.

In addtion to great advice that can be put to practical use by leaders at any level, Salka regails the reader with colorful stories of the men and women of the FDNY. Overall, a great read.

The New York Fire Department (FDNY) seemed a company of heroes in the months after September 11, 2001. Later, when investigations revealed the enormity of the blunders and the degree to which petty political infighting had literally doomed firefighters to death, the FDNY lost a bit of its luster. But FDNY traditionally has a core of strong leaders, and John Salka is one of them. In this book, he shares his leadership philosophy. It's no slur to observe that this is a leadership book for firehouse buffs who are as interested in firefighter yarns as in leadership. The leadership principles outlined here are sound but not new; what is fresh is that the author illustrates those principles with fire fighting stories, clearly far more interesting than war stories from accounting - even if a bit remote from most people's everyday business reality. After all, few business people risk their lives in their daily work, and probably no business has the esprit de corps of a firehouse. We recommend this book to business people across the professions. The ride inside the fire truck will keep you engrossed in its solid leadership lessons.

As a member of corporate America, I know first hand how many bad managers there are out there, and how easy it is to make poor decisions when managing people. This book is straightforward and easy to read, but more importantly, it outlines what I think, are some of the most fundamental ideas behind strong leadership. Some are common sense ideas that are easy to forget (and are helpful to read again from this angle) others are more surprising. But you will see most if not all of them in every good boss/leader you've ever worked for or observed. (and respected, for that matter.) Highly recommended to anyone who is looking for a truly useful book on managing and leading - the right way.

The Chief provides a pragmatic and useful guide to leadership in organizations of all sizes, missions and purposes. Whether your leadership interest is in business, military, government, education or non-profit organizations, the leadership lessons will find immediate application. And, if you are an aspiring leader, the Chief's viewpoint will accelerate the development of your own leadership style and help you (and your followers) avoid costly leadership mistakes. Worthy of several reads!

Every CEO and aspiring business professional should read this book. Business executives and those who lead corporate teams will gain tremendous insight into how to successfully lead and motivate others. The style of writing is excellent. While reading the book I felt very much like a really great, normal, down-to-earth guy was talking to me, sharing his experiences and providing practical examples that I could easily apply to situations that I encounter everyday in the business world. And who better to teach leadership than someone who successfully leads people into life and death situations on a regular basis? The stories here are true inspiration for any aspiring leader. This is an exceptional book full of practical advice for all business professionals. All of our business leaders today, from production floor managers, to human resource executives to small business owners to the heads of large corporations should read this book and follow its example. A must read.

John Salka's book is an extension of his tremendous success as a fire officer. As his former Captain in FDNY on Manhattan's Lower East Side I spotted Salka as a bright, agressive, well liked Lieutenant that was always trying to make his organization better. John not only went through the ranks leading his troops honorably, he had the expertise to teach management techniques that were way ahead of his time in America's fire service. His book First in and Last Out is a tribute to this fine officers knowledge and a must read for fire service personnel or managers.

Always managing and being a firefighter in parallel never truly made me a better person. Now after having read Salka's book and truly understood my management style and applying Salka's hints, I feel I am truly a good manager. My staff has noticed the change as has my senior managers. I have passed the book along and regularly mentor my newer managers with this book. Do not pass this book up!

First In, Last Out was a book I couldn't put down almost from start to finish. I thought it was going to be about the courage and dedication of the NYC Fire Department - well, it was that and a whole lot more. I read the book several weeks ago and think often of passages that relate to day-to-day life, life in the business world, and how we can be better at all of it by following their ethic. It's a truly inspiring book - and full of real life adventure. The best of both worlds!

As an officer in a volunteer fire department and having a real world management job, I was able to use everything this book gave me. At first, I did buy the book to be a better fire department officer but I found myself using many of the principles in everyday business life. This book is one of the easiest educational reads I've ever experienced. Hope everyone else enjoys it as much as I did.

Few books on business leadership have so thoroughly and quickly captured by interest. The book is extremely well written and is an insightful treatment of the complex human relationships of leadership, accountability, and motivation. It should be required reading for all levels of management in corporations, organizations, and institutions.