Writing Rising from Ground Zero: 9/11 and the FDNY’s Path through Crisis to Transformation took my co-authors, Paul Brown (FDNY Captain, ret) and Andre Kotze (Executive coach and veteran) consistently much deeper and more personally into the terrain of the 40 interviews than even the conduct of the interviews themselves
About 9 years ago, I was lunching at Wharton’s Aresty Center (executive education). I wasn’t teaching so I wasn’t with participants. In between meetings, I looked to refuel quickly before re-entering the fray. I was, in short, minding my own business during a short hiatus/respite.
This coming September will mark 23 years since the WTC towers went down.
Paul Brown (FDNY, captain, retired), Andre Kotze (executive coach, Teamworks), and I continue our now 7 year project of interviewing retired FDNY first responders from 9/11/01.
Here’s a brief piece in Work@Wharton article drawing on my research with retired FDNY first responders on 9/11.
FDNY and September 11 offers valuable, hard earned lessons to those trying to lead through the all too challenging times we face today.
