Aaron Feather, a good friend of mine from Cumberland Valley Tree Service who manages their arboriculture safety and training aspects, recently sent me a great book by Peter Blaber entitled The Mission, The Men and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander. The book is Blaber’s reflections on several operations he was a part of during his active duty around the globe. More so, it is also an illumination of some of the key concepts that Blaber learned through his experiences as a commando and a commander. The book is filled with real operational knowledge and advice on how to be successful with any mission, and I found many of philosophies could apply directly to the production arborist in the field.

Early in the text Blaber writes, “…the lessons themselves are most often misdirected on the dramatic particulars of the tactics and techniques, instead of the patterns of activities and behaviors that were actually responsible for the outcome of the event. For it’s not the action-the blinding flash of a concussion grenade, or the stealthy approach of the night vision-clad command, but the interaction, in the form of the way we think, the way we make decisions, and the way we operationalize our decisions that matter most,” (14).

Our interactions as arborists cover a vast array of situations, from how we deal with our clients to how we deal with our teammates (coworkers, subcontractors, etc.) to how we deal with unforeseen situations. Small jobs melt into large jobs and that entire process eventually turns into a large, complex symphony of arboriculture with many moving parts. Blazer’s insight into the importance of interactions, rather than just actions themselves, highlights the idea of how success becomes the smooth transition between each individual action of a project (from saw maintenance to charging a Sena communication unit to tying a running bowline). Success runs far deeper than individual actions such as a smooth rig from ground personnel or a properly applied face cut by the climber. Those are mere notes in the symphony of a successful operation. True success lies in the ability to sustain that correct decision making process throughout the work week/month/year. In this sense, success is a process, an attitude, a culture. As arborists, our actions are important of course, not because they are individually heroic, but rather because they lead to better operational success as a whole. This is a core value in strong teamwork. Strong teamwork produces better arboriculture.

Arborists are constantly gathering information regarding the situation they find themselves in. Consider a site inspection, or an individual tree inspection. We start by asking the tree owner questions, and by observing the physical clues the tree presents to us at ground level. This is the beginning of what Blaber describes as developing the situation, and in his book it is one of the foundational philosophies to success of any mission. In many ways, it goes against the grain of traditional, rigid, static planning. Because in many environments factors change rapidly. As climbers, how often do we access large crowns and realize that a rigging point we thought would be sufficient from the ground is compensated or will not suffice according to the plan we thought we had. There is a vertical crack on the back of a stem, a hollow, a conk-unforeseen compensation. We need to be fluid enough to develop the situation further.

Blaber reminds us of three keys to successfully developing a situation: Innovation, adaptation and audacity. Innovation is our ability to not be trapped on a one way road towards a goal. We can rely on our teammates to help broaden the horizons of innovation. Many of us work with arborists that have strengths in many different areas. We can allow ourselves to tap into each others strengths in order to be more innovative. Adapting to a changing environment goes hand in hand with innovating. In fact, it is a direct result of innovation. When it comes to tree work, taking bold risks is never a recommended action, but in this context I’d like to illuminate the concept of audacity as the ability of believing in the impossible, and to not be intimidated as to accepting a challenge we have the tools to overcome. Blaber constantly reminds us that there is always a way to accomplish a goal, and in many contexts and for many people that is bold, audacious concept. Many times the arborist may find themselves in a situation that seems virtually impossible: impossible access, impossible logistics, impossible terrain, etc. Being audacious does not have to mean being reckless or unsafe. We can be audacious by believing that we can do anything safely, efficiently and far more professional than our competitors. This safety is many times lives in our mentorship and in the network we create around us.

Time constraints are a big problem to the process of developing the situation. In arboriculture operations, from a business perspective, time constraints usually determine the fact of making money or not. It’s a production mindset, and typically a harsh reality. But Blaber reminds us that, “most time constraints are self generated,” (103). In complex situations it’s difficult, especially as a contractor, to not be aware of the governing fact that the clock is ticking. Time is always of the essence. I think the point here is that time constraints shouldn’t limit us to developing the situation. As more contextual knowledge of a situation arises, we can use a number of different tools such as communication and teamwork to accomplish a goal in a timely manner. Safety and success is the ultimate payment. In very specific and complex scenarios, we can use open-ended rate agreements in order to allow us more freedoms in the process of developing a situation. This doesn’t apply to all jobs, but in some scenarios it could prove to be essential.

Another valuable concept from the text that I truly love is Blaber’s concept that nothing is real unless it’s shared. This philosophy is rooted in communication and sharing knowledge as it is learned. Tree work is a dynamic process with many moving parts. Machinery is working on all levels from saws running in the tree to material handling on the ground and materials being processed through a chipper or other means. Things become loud and violent in many moments of production arboriculture. It is our responsibility to stay closely connected with our teammates. We have a responsibility to maintain an environmental awareness of everything around us. That awareness is critical to share. Everyone’s reality should be each individuals reality. If that web is broken or damaged, catastrophe lingers in close quarters.

Stagnation will cripple the ability to develop any situation. Blaber reveals that the teams (Special Operations Units) “never stopped adjusting or refining their concepts,” (247). Constant learning is the key to operational success. It goes back to three key points that Blaber focuses on early in the text; essentially a step by step process that he receives from a phycologist on how to further develop a situation: saturate, incubate, illuminate. In a sense this is the ability to keep an open mind. Good ideas are everywhere, and by saturating those ideas we can, on the back end, illuminate amazing breakthroughs in how we operate.

I’ve found the lessons in Blaber’s book to be highly inspirational in how I think about arboriculture operations. The production arborist can adopt many of these philosophies, not because we are elite warriors by any means, but because we are skilled operators that are required to make decisions in many different situations and in many different environments. Arboriculture is a team based learning experience that will ultimately thrive in a shared reality through constantly refining concepts. It is a never ending learning process.

Always develop the situation.