The First 10 Minutes

In just the first 10 minutes of your shift, you set the tone for the entire day. Walk in with confidence, focus, and readiness. Remember, it’s not about what you say; it’s about what you do!

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https://www.buzzsprout.com/2605628/support

This episode Includes dynamic content. If you feel impressed to help support the show, follow the link below. If not, please continue to like, share, follow, and subscribe for more great content!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2605628/support

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

The most important part of your shift is the first ten minutes. It's not the med calls, it's not the fire calls, it's not the big moment that you think defines you. It's the first ten minutes. Because before anything happens, before the tones drop, before the day even really gets started, your crew's already forming an opinion. And it's not based on what you say, but it's absolutely based on what you do. It's based on how you walk in. It's based on how you carry yourself, whether you're ready or whether you're just showing up. And the truth is you don't get to explain this later. You don't get to go back and fix it because by the time you realize it matters, they've already decided who you are that day. Most people don't even realize this is happening. Before we get into this episode, I have a quick update for you. So Wine the Q first aired on April 3rd, 2026. At one month in, Wine the Q has been played 34,191 times across six countries and forty-six states. And that is absolutely amazing to me. It's truly not about the numbers, but it's about getting our message out. But we appreciate every single listener and every supporter. This week's episode with Clay Willis is going to be pushed back. My wife is in the hospital right now, and that's where my focus needs to be. We'll get that episode out pretty soon, but I didn't want to leave a gap because consistency matters, and that applies to this podcast just like it does to the job. So today, it's just me from the hospital room. And we're talking about something simple. Something that carries more weight than most people realize. The first ten minutes of your shift and why they matter more than you may think. So every shift resets. It doesn't matter how good you were yesterday. It doesn't matter what kind of call you ran last shift. And it don't matter what people said about you last week. You walk in and it all starts over. We have good shifts, we had bad shifts, we go home, we try it again next shift. Every shift is a chance for a fresh start. And I think that's something people don't fully understand early on. You don't build your reputation one time in this job. You build it every shift, over and over again. And then those first ten minutes, that's where it starts. So you walk in and your crew notices, and it's not in a formal way. Nobody's standing there grading you or evaluating you, but they're watching. Are you early? Are you rolling in five minutes before shift starts? Just in time to get your gear on the truck. Are you squared away? Do you know where everything is and that it's in order and you've you've prepped for the day? Are you already thinking about the job? I run a double company station. We have an engine and an aerial. And because of truck rotations and staffing needs and all these different things, I send out a message the night before with scheduling updates or duties for the day and the training schedule. I start my morning at home before I ever leave to go to work checking the weather. It's about prepping for the job. It's about coming in squared away. Or are you walking in just hoping the day goes smooth? This will happen to you at some point. But those two mindsets look completely different. And here's the part that makes it all frustrating. It's not that complicated. There's nothing complex about those first ten minutes. You're not being asked to do anything special. You're just checking your gear, you're checking your truck, and you know what you're working with. And that's your baseline. But beyond that, you're just you're just setting a tone. If you walk in focused, then that's gonna carry over to your crew. If you walk in sharp, people are gonna feel it. But if you walk in distracted or you're dragging, everybody's gonna know it immediately. And here's the reality you don't get to separate that from the rest of the shift. Because the way you start bleeds into everything else. And we talk about this on responses that first do how that radio traffic comes across, and the tone from that officer sets the pace for the rest of the call. Same thing for that first ten minutes in the morning. So you can't start slow and expect to later just flip a switch. That's not how any of this works. Your crew doesn't need a speech. They they may not need motivation at all. They don't need you to tell them how great you are as a firefighter. They're gonna figure all that out on their own, quick, fast, and in a hurry. Because they're not listening to what you say, they're they're watching everything that you do, every shift, especially early in the day. The fastest way to lose credibility and consistency. Every time. You're locked in one shift, next shift you come in and you've just checked out. And then you're focused one day and then you're just getting through it the next. That's what people notice faster than anything. And once that becomes your pattern, it's hard to back up and fix. So those first ten minutes, they're not just routine, they're a signal. They're a signal to your crew. And if you're an officer, this matters even more because whether you realize it or not, your crew is taking all those cues from you. You don't have to say anything. You don't have to give direction, they're watching how you operate. How many times do you walk up to somebody that maybe you you know them but you hadn't seen them in a while? Or you may not know them at all. And in those first few seconds, you're reading their body language and you're reading what they're saying, and you're taking all of this into account, and that is what you base your response on. We do that every single day. That's the same thing your crew does to you in that first ten minutes. If you're locked in, they're gonna match that energy. If you come in casual, they'll drop down and match that too. And if you're inconsistent, that's gonna spread like wildfire. Now you're not just dealing with uh your own habits, but you're dealing with the tone of your entire crew, and it may be the tone that you set in the first place. That's the weight of this position. We don't just set expectations, we have to demonstrate them every shift starting in that first ten minutes. So in that first few minutes of your shift, that's that's not gonna define your entire career, but they will shape how people see you one shift at a time. And that adds up a lot faster than you think it does. So the next time you walk into the station, don't just go through the motions, be intentional with everything that you do. Because it's not just about getting through the day, it's about how you show up for it, it's about how you prepare for it, and it's about how you execute it. So we'll get back to our scheduled episode soon. Until then, we desire your thoughts and prayers for answers and healing. Thank you for listening to Wind the Q. Stay safe, take care of your crew, and take care of yourself.