THE PODCAST
Elevating the conversation about all things tactical.
There’s Nothing “Friendly” About “Friendly Fire”
We know that fog and friction make it harder to be aware of the environment and cause simple tasks to become more difficult, so how do we mitigate these factors and prevent “own goals”? Listen to this episode to find out.
You Can’t Spell “Officer” without “Office”
Jim sounds off on his favorite topic: Management is not a dirty word, to be shunned in favor of “leadership”. Rather, management is part of leadership. It’s the art & science of allocating and coordinating resources to meet a goal.
Ending the Threat, Reasonably
Incapacitating a threat by means of lethal force requires certainfactors to be met in order to be considered reasonable, and it’s not a blank check. In the laws of war, there’s a difference between sailors boarding a small boat from a sinking ship because they’re out of the fight and marines climbing into small landing craft to get into the fight. In civilian self defense, each shot needs to be defensible, and that means reasonably explainable.
Growing into Solving Problems
Unlike the fixed mindset in which you’re dropped onto the planet as either Someone Who Can or Someone Who Can’t based on some immutable set of skills, a growth mindset is one in which you see yourself as an active participant, learning from each experience to better deal with the next one. Mike explains why one of these is not only better for dealing with the incident, but also dealing with the aftermath.
Spotting Zebras
Humans are excellent at pattern recognition…if they’ve gathered enough data to establish a baseline. Whether it’s noticing an abnormal heart rhythm, an unusual response to a squad car parked at an interdiction checkpoint, or the activity leading up to an ambush in some far-off deployment, being aware of what’s normal and what’s not can be a crucial skill.
The Power of Professionalism
There’s a high expectation of professionalism in the military and law enforcement worlds, but what does that mean? It’s easy to mistake the basics of bearing and rule-following as learned in early training for professionalism, but Mike and Jim point out that the professional is trusted to understand the situation well enough to take ownership of it, and the competence and expertise to make the hard decisions.
Accentuate the Positive
Positivity isn’t magic. You can’t optimism your way through a situation you aren’t ready for any more than you can mindset your way through a fight. Productive positivity, however, is never allowing yourself to say “this sucks” without adding “…and this is how I’m going to fix it.” Listen in as Jim offers his thoughts on a practical positive attitude.
Go Touch Grass
While “self care” is a term with a bit of a woo-woo feel to it, it’s necessary for people in high stress jobs to take time to depressurize, and getting out in nature is a great way to do it. Jim takes the time on deployments to plan his hikes for when he gets home; what’s your outdoor stress release?
Managing Resourceful Humans
Picking the human talent for your team and carefully developing them once they’re selected is a core element of leadership, and “management” is not a dirty word. Knowing the traits you need and attracting people with those traits is a foundational skill for any team leader. Keeping those people there and motivated is where the management comes in.
You Have Questions, We Have Answers
For the first episode of the New Year, Mike and Jim tap one of the podcast’s most important resources: You, the listeners! We asked the members of the Tactical Tangents Facebook discussion group for a list of questions, with the promise of podcast swag for the best one. (If you’re not in the group, get in there and join!)
Guns n’ Guitars: Go learn something new
Hobbies are an important outlet but often, the hardest part is getting started. The next thing you have to learn is how to break through the inevitable plateaus and challenges that come with learning new skills, so in episode 153 we talk about how to develop techniques without sucking the joy out of something that is supposed to be fun.
Do you trust me? Selflessness in Teamwork
It’s one thing that we all get along, but real trust isn’t something that can be assumed as a given–we’ve got to earn it. Building trust in teams has a lot to do with the often unwritten social contracts that help us get on the same page about our roles and responsibilities. We have to know that everyone is going to put the mission before their own personal interests to really build harmony and a combined effort that is greater than than the sum of its individual parts.
All’s Well…If We Make it Well
“Wellness” is a buzzword these days. Employers offer all manner of wellness aids from fitness to nutrition as part of benefits packages, but the truth is that nobody can make you care about your wellness if you don’t. In this episode, Mike explains why this is an important concept and the reasons you should care about it.
Team Selection: Real-Life Fantasy Draft
Having a good selection procedure is important for getting the right members on a team. Mike steals a page from advertising, only where an ad man conceptualizes the ideal customer, he’s looking for the ideal SWAT guy. The process could work for any team selection, though. Just think about what the ideal candidate would say, think, do, or feel, and look for those people. Listen to this episode for ideas on how to do just that.
A Good Commander Knows What to Control
In this episode Mike and Jim talk about command and control, and teaching decision-making skills to team members. In this way, when everything hits the fan, the right decisions get made fast, and get made at the right level. There’s a reason for supervisors, commanders, and leaders, but it’s important to know when to let subordinates make decisions. Not every incident is The Big One, but nobody’s ready for The Big One if they haven’t been taught in the small ones.
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