Great points Frank! Thank you for the response, you are correct. Metrics in response models are challenging directly because our most significant value is the event that did NOT happen. So when measuring performance, you are faced with a two-prong problem; how do prove an event would have occurred and how do you quantify this event. This now known as “quantifying a negative.”
I possess two business degrees, was financial analysis, and have started multiple companies. To my fault, I took the frameworks from business school and tried to apply them to the fire service at the start of my career, searching for opitization and efficiencies. It wasn’t until my amateur pursuit of physics I stumbled across Per Bak’s sand pile metaphor and changed my mind. I realized that we try to fit the world into the frameworks we have been taught, regardless if they fit or not. And what have most of us been taught; business school metrics. Using business metrics to measure the fire service is like using what you learned in drivers education to fly a plane.
This article is me outlining my thoughts on managing a business verse leading a critical resource. Your points on quantitative metrics are well taken. I argue the fire service needs qualitative metrics vs. more quantitative metrics, like the impact of different events.
