Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations,
team building, and goal of jeving. This is the seven Minute Leadership
Podcast with your host Paul fella Aldo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the
Seven Minute Leadership Podcast, Episode one eighty four. And I've been looking forward
to this episode for a while now because I did an episode on preparedness a
few months back, and one of my work colleagues said that I should do
an episode on this bag that I carry for work, and I thought,
yeah, that might be a cool idea. So in a world of everyday
Carrie or EDC as they call it, this is what I have in my
leadership situation might be a little extreme indifferent from a regular nine to five or
but you and steal what I'm about to share with you and customize and tailor
this to you and your leadership situation. So, as an EMS chief and
emergency management coordinator that has to have go bags and be mobile at the snap
of a finger, this is what I have to take the office with me
at all times into the field. I call it my command kit. So
to start, I have a police officer patrol bag that I got from Amazon
and I keep this in my office or in my car. It's a great
bag, and you can scale this concept back and you can do a backpack
or a computer bag. But if you're looking for a good size bag,
this front seat police officer patrol bag is the way to go because it's big
and it has tons of storage and so in that I have as stock with
the following items to use, so notebook or notepad, and I have all
sizes of them. I have a couple vanilla folders, pens and pencils,
business cards or I just recently bought that new dot card that's out, so
I think that's pretty neat to kind of replace paper business cards. I have
a physical personal planning calendar that I can spread out so that multiple people can
see it at the same time. Portable charger in a power bank, a
laptop, and an iPad, USB flash drive or an external hard drive.
Obviously my cell phone. I have headphones for the cell phone, a portable
Wi Fi hotspot device, the always popular and incredibly useful breath mints or gum
hand sanitizer, pocket first aid kit. I have an extra set of charging
cables for the phone, for the laptop, for the iPad, a portable
wireless mouse, reusable water bottle. I always have a little snacks like energy
bars or those little costco packs of like trail mix, wallet or business card
holder, and travel size toiletries because you never know, like when you're working
long hours, just being able to go brush your teeth and freshen up a
little bit is a great feeling. Always have reading materials, books, articles,
magazines, industry types of journals. Also, noise canceling headphones are incredibly
important for me, because sometimes you just need to tune out all the ambient
noise around you so you can really focus. Also in the bag sunglasses,
portable umbrella or like one of those little Walmart ponchos that you get for a
dollar, tissues and handkerchiefs. A small tool kit with essentials like a little
screwdriver, a little pair of pliers and a tape measure can come in handy.
Also some sort of a multi tool like a leatherman or a Swiss army
knife. Portable bluetooth speaker for presentations or impromptu meetings, as well as a
portable projector for delivering presentations on the ghost. Sometimes you might need to throw
something up on a white wall. Just so that a lot of people can
see it. So that's very beneficial too. Also an emergency contact card.
It's like a list. It's a laminated card with important phone numbers. In
case my cell phone gets lost, stolen, or anything like that, you
can pull that out and just point to a phone number, sticky notes post
it's obviously, and highlighter markers, a business card, and a document scanner
app on my phone is one of the most used apps that I just can't
stop talking about. I use it literally every single day. Spare pair of
reading glasses or contact lenses, whatever you wear, power adapters and cables for
various devices, Portable bluetooth keyboard for easier typing on mobile devices when you're in
the field or when you're in your car. Foldable or a portable stand for
your smartphone or your tablet. Is handy, and so it is like a
handheld label maker for organizing those Manila envelopes that I have, not Manilla envelopes,
the Manila folders that I carry with me, or any sorts of other
types of items. One of the other most useful things that I carry with
me is a mini whiteboard and markers because I always do impromptu brainstorming sessions on
the go, cable ties, velcro straps for cable management on the go,
mini stapler and extra staples, and again you can like they sell these kits
if you just go to like Walmart, they sell these little mini office kits
that has like the paper clips and many stapler and many scissors. They're invaluable.
I also carry a USB drive with important documents or presentations that are preloaded
in case you're somewhere and you don't have good connection in the cloud just isn't
available for you, as well as emergency cash or spare change. I do
carry a little compact mirror with me. You know. I know a lot
of women would use that obviously, you know, for makeup and you know
stuff like that. I use it honestly for whenever I get done eating,
just to make sure I don't have a big hunk of food stuck in a
tub. Or something like that. Portable handheld fan or like one of those
little mini desk fans or neck fans that they also sell at Walmart. Any
sort of reference material industry specific to you that you can look at and always
have handy if you need to reference something. A smart watch or some kind
of a fitness tracker. Whenever you're out in the way from your home base,
it's good to track your steps. And if you're doing any sort of
a workout, stress relief tools, you know, like a stress ball or
what were those things a few years ago, those little fidget spinners. Any
of those little stress relief tools I think are incredibly valuable. And this last
one I think is incredibly important. And it's the most important thing that I
carry, and no one knows I carry it, and I'm the only person
that sees it. I call it a personal vision statement. So this is
like a little card that I handwrote on. It's my mission statement. They're
my affirmations, they're my promises to others. I've made my goals that I've
written down so that I could look at them and reference them often and remember
to always be accountable to myself. So remember customize this list based on your
specific needs and your preferences. Whenever you travel or if you're going somewhere to
teach or going to a conference, it's important to regularly review and update these
items in your bag and ensure you have everything you need to navigate your leadership
responsibilities. Effectively. Remember the items you choose should align with your personal preferences
in leadership style. Continuously adapt and refine this list to support your growth as
a leader. This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast and I thank you
for listening. For more Paul Fellovledo podcasts, visit Paul Fellovaledo dot com