Rising from Ground Zero presents the story of the FDNY, a proud, long standing, and widely respected organization that suffered intense systemic shock on September 11, 2001. Using over 90 hours of never-before-published author-conducted responder interviews, mainly FDNY firefighters, this book relates the story of battling through the crisis, managing the aftermath, and constructing the future.
The interviews provide a vital oral history of the experience of handling the path of the FDNY through the crisis and decades long organizational transformation, one that continues today. They also provide the basis for lessons (often starkly concrete) offered by the authors to all those, especially leaders, facing crisis or seeking fundamental organizational change.
Much remains to be told about and, consequently, learned from 9/11. In the case of the FDNY, the day and its long shadow contain foundational stories of who we are as well as who we aspire to be.
This book will help readers to see, learn, and apply lessons in crisis management, leading in hard times, and succeeding in organizational change.
About the Author :
Gregory P. Shea, PhD, is Senior Fellow at the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management, Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Implementation Science (PISCE), and adjunct Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Paul Brown is a retired New York City Fire captain and educator. A third-generation firefighter, Paul spent over thirty years as a first responder. While a member of the FDNY Incident Management Team, he deployed numerous times to natural disasters and wildfires throughout the nation. He speaks regularly on managing crises, high stakes decision making and organizational change.
André Kotzé is the founder of AirtimeBA and Principal Consultant at Teamworks Training and Development. A veteran with 30 years of field experience, including 15 years in mountain rescue and refugee camps, he developed AirtimeBA to categorize human interaction through "behavioral telemetry." Beyond his role as researcher and writer for this study, Andre converts observable behaviors into measurable frameworks that make professional conversations meaningfully better.
Review :
"Rising from Ground Zero: 9/11 and the FDNY's Path through Crisis to Transformation belongs on every leader's bookshelf. It presents FDNY responder, on the ground, personal stories of 9/11 and what followed. Moving and inspiring, it is a story of crisis, endurance, and healing. It is also a story of transformation, of how to transform even the most elite of organizations. Any leader navigating stormy seas or facing the daunting task of organizational renewal should read Rising from Ground Zero - carefully."
--Admiral James Stavridis, 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and author of 2084: A Novel of Future War
"A powerful and fully immersive narrative, Rising From Ground Zero chronicles the most tragic event in the storied history of the FDNY. Through a gripping reconstruction of that fateful day - and the critical decisions that followed - the book offers a rare window into leadership under extreme pressure. Drawing on firsthand accounts and rigorous analysis, the authors illuminate the sacrifice, bravery, and resilience of one of the world's premier first responder organizations. Both a tribute and a study in crisis management, Rising From Ground Zero is essential reading for leaders and aspiring professionals across public safety, government, the military, and beyond."
--John Sudnik, FDNY Chief of Department (2018-2021)
"Rising from Ground Zero preserves what must never be lost: the lived truth of those who answered the call on September 11 and in the long decades since then. Some books inform. Rising from Ground Zero transforms. The unvarnished words of the 9/11 FDNY responders show us what leadership looks like when the ground itself gives way. This book is honest, humane, and quietly devastating. Read it slowly. Listen to the people's voices, their pain, their grief, their strength and their hope. If you lead anyone - a team, a company, a family - open this book, let these firefighters speak, and take to heart what only they can teach us."
--Annie Mckee, bestselling author and leadership expert; co-author of Primal Leadership
"A deeply human account of 9/11 and its aftermath, told by those who lived it. Rising from Ground Zero is as much about leadership, trust, and resilience as it is about tragedy - and offers enduring lessons for anyone leading through crisis."
--Laura Kavanagh, 34th FDNY Commissioner (Ret.), Distinguished Visiting Urbanist, New York University
