Is There Really A Stupid Question?
The Laggards, who only want to ask a question are now excluded because they dared to do what we’ve always been encouraged to do – Ask Questions.
Social Landmines In Today’s Spiritual Battlefield
This is where social pariah feed. Because, just as the crowd did to the contest’s winner; people without foundation will applaud you before they feast upon you.
Building A Better Man
Many religions no longer feed the masculine soul of a man. Why? Because the shift toward single moms and grandparents raising their progeny has tilted the church’s focus toward our wonderful sisters.
It wasn’t their choice—it was our absence.
1 of 31 Days: What Is It To Be Good
We’re basically free to do as we please no matter the hurt or harm to others. Why? because the gaggle of cohorts will also be good once you all agree to terms 1 or 2 of the definition.
FIT@50 / week 73
FIT@50 / week 73 Kinda Weird: We came back to Louisiana for a few days while the kids were tucked away at […]
Change Responsibly – Stretching the Police:
The occupational dichotomy between the enforcer and guardian ethos is a powerful pendulum swing in either direction.
FIT@50 / week 68
mostly listen to little voices laughing, and reading to each other, or one would wander off into the dark imagining he was Ironman, while they watched lightening bugs spark throughout the wooded backyard.
FIT@50 / week 66
FIT@50 / week 66 True Power: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix This week I received two notices about Chief of Police positions in Louisiana. My immediate thoughts were “No thanks.” It was about this time last year that I’d announced my August 28th retirement date. I would’ve never in a million years thought retirement from the only job I’d known would’ve been a reality. To be honest, […]
FIT@50 / week 65
FIT@50 / week 65 It’s Because: Guys, this week has been so incredible. It was actually after 11:00pm before Liliana Hart reminded me it was Friday and that I’d forgotten to post my FIT@50. That’s just how amazing this week has been. This was our first family vacation since Disney last Christmas. We swam, BBQ’d, go-carts, arcades, stayed up watching movies, and ate bacon late at night (don’t ask). It was also our anniversary (I remembered) Memories from my childhood were so […]
FIT@50 / week 64
FIT@50 / week 64 3 Seconds: A few years back I wanted to compete in a triathlon. There was only one problem. I was a 260 lbs powerlifter and had no clue how to swim. I walked until I could jog and jogged until I could run. I bought a cheap bike until I could sustain the mileage and then I bought a less cheap bike. I taught myself to swim, but nearly drown in my first race under the white caps. […]
FIT@50 / week 39
I walked across water
FIT@50 \ week 9
FIT@50 \ week 9 Signs and wonders: As I’ve matured, leaning on faith has become something on which I focus. Wishing I could say it came easy wouldn’t be the truth. I think it’s a by-product of occupational conditioning. Cops assume everything someone says is naturally not the truth until proven otherwise. Skepticism requires a difficult deprogramming process, but is necessary for learning to trust others. The bible talks about reliance upon signs and wonders versus leaning on faith. As I’ve learned […]
FIT@50 \ week 5
FIT@50 \ week 5 Legacy Building Talking with a newly promoted commander I encouraged him to consider how he wanted to be remembered. “Think about building your legacy today,” I said, “not on your deathbed.” He leapt to his feet and shared a movie scene he felt applied. Warring kings agreed to have their respective champions fight in their place. King A calls a giant, menacing soldier. King B calls a guy—who’d decided to sleep in that morning. An apprentice was dispatched […]
FIT@50 \ week 4
FIT@50 \ week 4: 1 hour – I was feeling a bit omniscient this week as my 25th year in law enforcement roared around. Sharing a few old stories with the guys helped me reflect on how incredibly different my life had turned out. Our historical journey migrated to a generational generalization. You know the one about, “kids now a days…” Seems the moment 8 hours of accrued leave is earned, some employees miraculously become ill for precisely 8 hours. Just then […]
It’s My Anniversary:
the sacrifices are noble when offered with a sincere heart.
FIT@50 \ week 3
FIT@50 \ week 3 Empathy: It’s okay to care. No matter how “fit” I’ve become, minding my own business has always been my business. During the many years in special operations my job was to know other’s secrets. I was good at my job. Knowing the darkest moments in another person’s life is a cross of confidentiality I understood I’d carry to my grave. Over the years it might have even caused me to construct a wall around my empathetic understanding. During […]
FIT@50 \ week 2
FIT@50 \ week 2 Finding this picture earlier I thought about how much better shape I was then than now. Behind my computer the adrenaline returned to re-experience the rush. I still sensed the empty state of exhaustion after having completed an open water swim and a long bike, to only prepare for a long run. Then I took a deep breath, hit “save” on this document and looked at the picture of me. In that chaotic ocean of nylon, Velcro and […]
FIT@50 \ week 1
“…when I began the Friday posts my goal was to exercise like a teenager leading up to his prom night.”
Mardi Gras 2015 – In the books
In these last 5 years of working Mardi Gras as the Chief of Police, I’ve experienced many changes. I’ve also seen that the most important things remain constant. 1. The people in the City of Thibodaux are amazing & know how to celebrate safely. 2. The staff at the Thibodaux Police Department are committed to community policing. 3. The members of the various Mardi Gras krewes cherish cultural value & Cajun tradition. 4. Max and I still look forward to our annual […]
The Eulogy: 2014
The Eulogy: 2014 Over the last few days I’ve witnessed so many who’ve cursed or eulogized the last year; yes 2014. Instead of rejoicing in the 365 days of life God allowed them, they dismiss the gifts of grace in hopes of happenstance instantly or magically changing their circumstances. What makes a person believe that the tick of a second-hand tock is going to erase the hardships, the failures, the could-have-beens, the should-have-beens and the never-have-beens? Good things happen, bad things happen, […]
Crucibles of Leadership (part 4)
The Essentials of Leadership In our interviews, we heard many other stories of crucible experiences. Take Jack Coleman, 78-year-old former president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He told us of one day, during the Vietnam War, when he heard that a group of students was planning to pull down the American flag and burn it—and that former members of the school’s football team were going to make sure the students didn’t succeed. Seemingly out of nowhere, Coleman had the idea to preempt […]
Crucibles of Leadership (part 3)
Geeks and Geezers We didn’t set out to learn about crucibles. Our research for this article and for our new book, Geeks and Geezers, was actually designed to uncover the ways that era influences a leader’s motivation and aspirations. We interviewed 43 of today’s top leaders in business and the public sector, limiting our subjects to people born in or before 1925, or in or after 1970. To our delight, we learned a lot about how age and era affect leadership style. Our […]
Ferguson & Public Engagement | What are they good for?
What’s the best time to plant a tree? – 30 years ago. What’s the next best time to plant a tree? – Today In general, law enforcement has made for horrible horticulturalists. We’ve not tilled the soil of community engagement as a practice. Now we wonder why no one understands us. When an incident like Ferguson erupts, the pundits hurry to fend off allegations from a civilian population incessantly asking for answers. I’ve had so many tell how they’ve unfriended people on […]
“If Not Us, Who?”
“If Not Us, Who?” My heart weighs heavy in this week before the important decisions contemplated by a civilian grand jury in another state. After nearly 25 years of serving my community and country, I see the potential for an occupationalrevolution. The potential for substantially significant cultural change. While most revolutions are spurned through violence, this cannot be one of them. Soon, events born in violence will again effect this country. Not just for today, but years to come. Regardless what you […]
Us versus Them | A Ferguson Outcome
Us versus Them: Sunday I shared the burden on my spirit in anticipation of the grand jury decision, “If Not Us, Who?” (https://www.facebook.com/CopsWritingCrime) It wasn’t about an outcome. It was that our nation rallied on either side of the issue based not on facts and evidence, but on historical perspective. Truth is, there’s more than one narrative to American history. Just before turning off the news, I received a private message. Simply, it read – We Won! In clarity, I saw this […]
Crucibles of Leadership (part 2)
Learning From Difference A crucible is, by definition, a transformative experience through which an individual comes to a new or an altered sense of identity. It is perhaps not surprising then that one of the most common types of crucibles we documented involves the experience of prejudice. Being a victim of prejudice is particularly traumatic because it forces an individual to confront a distorted picture of him- or herself, and it often unleashes profound feelings of anger, bewilderment, and even withdrawal. For […]
Crucibles of Leadership (part 1)
What makes a leader As lifelong students of leadership, we are fascinated with the notion of what makes a leader. Why is it that certain people seem to naturally inspire confidence, loyalty, and hard work, while others (who may have just as much vision and smarts) stumble, again and again? It’s a timeless question, and there’s no simple answer. But we have come to believe it has something to do with the different ways that people deal with adversity. Indeed, our recent […]
Leading or leaning?
Think of those immediately surrounding you in supervisory positions. Now filter out your natural biases, jealousies or negative comments. Just look around. How did they get to where they are? Okay, now you’re free to flood the responses with whatever your perception is of how they arrived at that level. Some of your suspicions are probably true. This article isn’t as much for those being led, as those doing the leading. Ask yourselves how’d you get where you are? Was it because you […]
Are you pregnant?
Are you pregnant? I thought what a crazy question to ask a man. Are you pregnant with greatness? Oh, not that kinda pregnant. With greatness? I never thought about it. How many of us are actually pregnant with greatness? Unfortunately, we fear change. Therefore, we do anything we can to avoid giving birth to this potential. An odd analogy? Not really. Change is often accompanied by uncomfort, if even for a brief season. The transition into motherhood requires many changes leading up […]
Mission Possible: TPD Accepts the ALS Ice Water Challenge
I’ve been challenged by numerous fantastically caring people over the last several weeks. We sat in a light-hearted brainstorming session this week to create a response video. Within 15 minutes the imaginative group of officers took a simple idea and ran with it. More pleasing to me as their Chief of Police was that everyone dropped their guard to join in. Even if it meant making fun of themselves. It was for a cause greater than anyone of us. In this era […]
Blessed with new friends along the way
John Kerry has been a vital volunteer in promoting our Thibodaux Police Department’s social media strategy.
UK Cops – From Small Acorns Do Great Oaks Grow
Posted by my Brother in Blue from across the Pond – Nathan Constable It’s not like me to struggle for words when it comes to writing a blog but on this occasion I really am. This blog is primarily meant to be about UK COPS, the superb work it does and the phenomenal strength shown by the survivors. And yet – there is a theme around this that I am finding hard to verbalise. A theme I am almost uncomfortable in […]
Our HOT CAR Message went viral | Just don’t do it
The Thibodaux Police Department challenges each officer to create innovative social media messaging that relates to our citizens and demonstrates our willingness to extend ourselves to serve the city. This selfless demonstration by Public Information Officer Detective David Melancon illustrates our vision of service. Way to Geaux
The basis for a right relationship
In my years of ministry, I have been with numerous people as they left this life to enter into eternity. None have called for their accountant or their bankbooks. They only call for their family members, friends, and their God. At the end of life we all realize the only thing that really matters is our relationships. Ultimately, the most important is the relationship we have with our God. God created a special garden He called Eden, and placed the first man […]
Policing with compassion
Policing with Compassion: Renee Mitchell at TEDxOxbridge My friend, Sergeant Renee Mitchell, one of the great new innovators in re-inventing policing, shares her experience and the need to do it better. To show compassion and humanity while serving others. Great job Renee
Thank You
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends [John 15:13]
Police Week 2014; Honoring Captain Keith Paul Chiasson
Captain Keith Paul Chiasson is my Brother, and I miss you Captain Keith Paul Chiasson Thibodaux Police Department, Louisiana End of Watch: Monday, March 10, 2008 Bio & Incident Details Age: 51 Tour: 31 years Cause: Gunfire Incident Date: 2/19/1980 Weapon: Handgun Captain Keith Chiasson succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained in 1980. He was shot several times after responding to a complaint at a local night club. He died as a result of the wounds on March 10, 2008. Captain Chiasson had […]
Police Week 2014; Honoring Chaney Champagne
Detective Chaney Champagne was my Brother and I miss you. Detective Chaney Joseph Champagne Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Department, Louisiana End of Watch: Thursday, July 31, 2003 Bio & Incident Details Age: 45 Tour: 22 years Badge # 732 Cause: Automobile accident Incident Date: 7/31/2003 Detective Chaney Champagne and Sergeant Kurt Harrelson were killed when their patrol car collided with a truck on State Highway 308. At approximately 1530 hours, Detective Champagne and Sergeant Harrelson were responding to a call reporting an elderly woman had […]
Police Week 2014; Honoring Martha Ann Woods-Shareef
Sheriff’s Deputy Martha Ann Woods-Shareef was my Sister and I miss you. Deputy Sheriff Martha Ann Woods-Shareef Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Department, Louisiana End of Watch: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Bio & Incident Details Age: 53 Tour: 15 years Cause: Vehicular assault Incident Date: 8/20/2008 Weapon: Automobile Suspect: Apprehended Deputy Martha Woods-Shareef succumbed to injuries sustained when she was run over by a vehicle while investigating a burglary on Highway 20. She had responded to a local convenience store at 2:30 am after an alarm […]
Police Week 2014; Honoring Octavio Rafael “Ox” Gonzalez
Captain Octavio Rafael Gonzalez was my Brother and I miss you. Captain Octavio Rafael Gonzalez St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana End of Watch: Friday, June 16, 2006 Bio & Incident Details Age: 40 Tour: 13 years Cause: Gunfire Incident Date: 6/16/2006 Weapon: Gun; Unknown type Suspect: Sentenced to life Captain Octavio Gonzalez was shot and killed while participating in a manhunt for two suspects who had shot and wounded another deputy minutes earlier. The wounded deputy and his partner […]
Firemen | Because Cops Need Heros Too
In honor of the 2014 Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department’s world-famous “Fireman’s Fair,” I want to take this weekend to say THANK YOU! What do you get when mix Red and Blue? In Thibodaux, Louisiana you get a great group of committed public servants working together to protect the lives and properties of our citizens and visitors. This week is yours TVFD! The History The town of Thibodaux purchased equipment on April 3, 1843, consisting of 150 feet of hose and a dozen […]
Different Ideas for Developing Future Leaders
By the16percent on April 3, 2014 Even though the recent recession postponed retirement for many Baby Boomers, it didn’t eliminate it; and now many of them are exiting the workforce stage left. Because of this reality, many innovative organizations in both the private and public sectors are developing creative ways to develop effective leaders. Here’s a quick look at three unique approaches that could help prepare your team for the future: Leader-Lend Toyota has modeled this with great success. They created a diverse team of […]
8 Acts Of Chivalry To Bring Back
8 Acts Of Chivalry To Bring Back James Michael Sama / February 1, 2014 The more women I talk to, the more I realize that the gentleman is a rare breed. The mission of the New Chivalry Movement is to bring men (and women) together who strive to be the best versions of themselves and love and respect those around them. As the gentleman has become less prominent, so have the respectful acts that define him. Here are 8 acts of chivalry we often overlook and should […]
Rating Success Differently
Cop Culture: Why Good Cops Go Bad ranked in 3 of Amazon’s top categories. I am truly grateful. More importantly, I’ve received calls and e-mails from people asking about the work. They share that reading the book is like watching what their spouse or family member is going through on the job. I always assure them to read through to the recommendations!! If it helps one cop, one family or one community, it is a measured success. That’s rating success differently. Stay Blue, […]
Quiet Your Mind
Can You Quiet Your Mind? From John Marx’s CopsAlive.com For law enforcement professionals the importance of being able to quiet your mind is critical as the thoughts, ideas, plans and excessive noise in our heads can become overwhelming. Even in their more mild expressions these thoughts can keep us from being focused, attentive, alert and might disturb our sleep. The profession of law enforcement can be quite toxic and contributes many direct threats to your mental and emotional well-being, not to mention […]
The Younger Generations and why we’re (not) Doomed
NOTE: Originally posted by Chief Steve Allender of the Rapid City, SD Police Department. The younger generation – the 20-somethings have invaded our workplaces. You’ve seen them, maybe interviewed them for jobs, hired them and maybe you’ve even seen them quit the place you work already. By my generation’s standards they are flighty, they have a poor work ethic, they are short-term thinkers and they are too inexperienced to have the opinions they have about life and work and anything else for that […]
Be this guy
“Courage is being scared to death…and saddling up anyway.” John Wayne I first saw this photograph a couple of years ago and was struck with a sense of sadness for the man in the circle. My imagination swept me into believing the worst of fates for his non-compliance. I put the picture aside, and every so often would come across it again. While I wanted to cheer for his refusal to cave, I still suffered from the sadness of his assumed inevitable fate. […]
Me and my Shadow | Character
It’s character. I love the motivational messages about “the ultimate competitor lies within” and themes encouraging you to do your best to be your best. While most address athletic competition, I also appreciate the aspect in building strength of character. As a younger man I lauded over the strength to lift heavy weights as a benchmark of who I was, and the lifting of even more weight for who I wanted to be. Thank God we grow past those shallow ambitions. It’s character. […]
It’s safe : Inside the Box
I enjoy the challenge of remaining creative in ways to better serve the public. While I passionately believe there is always room for improvement, I also understand that improvement, via “change” is not always welcome. We’ve worn out the phrase “Think outside the box” to the point that merely saying it shows complacency and cliché. While I fully appreciate tradition, I could not imagine football played before the forward pass. Inside the Box: People don’t actually like creativity In the United States we are raised to appreciate […]
Lead Thyself
Lead Thyself: Quick Tips for Those Managing Themselves There’s a common misconception regarding the title of “leader”: You don’t have to be a manager or a supervisor in order to lead. If you’re providing direction or support to fellow colleagues, you’re a leader. More importantly, being a leader starts with being able to manage yourself effectively. If you one day wish to move up the corporate ladder and lead others, you must start with yourself. Even if you have no interest in entering […]