The Fire That Had No Incident Controller

About six years ago we rolled to what looked like a bushfire. There was smoke and flames heading towards a house, several crews responding and the usual radio chatter you expect when trucks are on the move. Nothing suggested this would quickly turn into a lesson about leadership, but within minutes the situation began to go sideways and it had nothing to do with fire and everything to do with the lack of control.

No one had established command.

The first crew arrived and began working the head of the fire. The second crew pulled in shortly after and started their own size-up on the side of the property without checking in. A third officer came over the radio and began giving directions that didn’t match what the first crew was already doing. At the same time no hydrant had been located because each crew assumed someone else had already taken care of it. Everyone was busy, everyone was acting with good intent, but no one was actually leading.

As more radio calls came through the channel became cluttered with overlapping voices, repeated questions and rising frustration. Firefighters on the ground were unsure whose instructions mattered and which plan they were meant to follow. Effort was being duplicated, time was being lost and risk was quietly increasing. The incident was drifting toward danger not because people lacked skill or courage. It was because no one had taken responsibility for the overall picture.

Then a senior officer arrived, picked up the radio and made a short, calm announcement that changed the whole incident. He named the incident, named himself the controller and made it clear who was in charge. There was no drama and no speech. It was simply a declaration of command.

From that point the noise settled, roles were assigned, sectors were defined and the water supply was secured. Within an hour the fire was contained. The same crews, the same equipment and the same fireground suddenly worked smoothly because one thing had changed. One clear voice replaced ten competing ones and everyone began working to the same plan.

That’s what command does. It doesn’t add effort. It adds direction. One person, one plan and one set of priorities that everyone can follow.

Now take that picture and place it over your business because many businesses are running their marketing exactly like that early stage of the fire. Plenty of activity, plenty of good people, yet no one truly in charge of the message.

When a Business Has No “Message Controller”

I recently worked with a growing B2B company that had capable people and a service that genuinely helped clients, yet their marketing results were inconsistent and their sales cycle kept dragging out longer than it should. When we looked closely, the issue wasn’t product quality or pricing. The issue was that their message changed depending on where you looked.

Their website talked about innovative solutions and strategic partnerships. Their sales team spoke about customised transformation plans. Their CEO described the company as a disruptor of legacy systems. Their social media focused on empowerment and growth. Each message sounded reasonable on its own, but together they told no single clear story about who the company was for and what problem they solved.

So I asked a simple question. Who owns the message?

Marketing believed they did. Sales said they adjusted it for each client. The CEO felt he set the direction. Social media said she kept it fresh. Those answers told me everything I needed to know because when several people think they own the message, no one truly does.

The numbers reflected it. Bounce rates were high, prospects needed several calls to understand the offer and deals often stalled in the middle. The team blamed market conditions and lead quality, but the real issue was simpler and harder to admit. They were trying to fight a fire with no one in command.

The First Rule of Command

On a fireground the Incident Management System exists to bring order when multiple crews and agencies arrive. Someone must establish command early and once they do, that person becomes the single point of accountability. They aren’t the one on the hose and they aren’t digging lines. Their role is to see the whole incident, set priorities and direct resources where they matter most.

The Incident Controller assigns roles, manages resources and makes decisions with limited information, which is normal in the early stage of any incident. Most importantly they keep everyone moving toward the same goal because a shared goal reduces confusion and wasted effort.

Without that role even experienced crews can drift. People work hard but not in sync, tasks get repeated, key steps get missed and the situation can grow instead of shrink.

Your brand messaging works in the same way. When no one clearly owns the message, marketing, sales and leadership all describe the business differently. That’s not creative variety. It’s mixed signals. Prospects hear different promises on different platforms and when people hear mixed signals they don’t ask for more details, they quietly move on.

Once your message is defined, someone must protect it and guide how it’s used. Otherwise it slowly changes.

When Everyone Owns the Message

I once reviewed a SaaS company where the homepage spoke about intelligent automation, the sales deck focused on cost reduction, LinkedIn highlighted AI efficiency and the CEO explained the business by comparing it to other tools. None of these were lies, yet together they created a blurry picture.

When I asked why the story kept shifting, the answers sounded familiar. Sales wanted to highlight savings, the board wanted to highlight AI, the CEO liked innovation language and the content team preferred premium phrasing. Each choice made sense in isolation, but together they created confusion because there was no single authority shaping the message.

That’s what committee messaging looks like. Many opinions and no command.

Having To Think, Kills Sales

Your prospect is busy and probably distracted by their problems. They aren’t studying your website like a case file. If your message forces them to work hard to understand what you do, you create friction and friction slows decisions.

People scan quickly. They look for signs that say “this is for me” and “this solves my problem.” If they can’t see that fast, they leave and find someone clearer. Most lost sales aren’t dramatic failures, they’re quiet exits.

When Sales Builds Its Own Story

When there’s no message controller, salespeople fill the gap with their own version of the story. One highlights price, another pushes speed, another leans on customisation and another talks about innovation. Over time your brand promise changes depending on who the buyer spoke to first.

Customers then feel misled when the story shifts and even if your delivery is strong, trust takes a hit. Referrals slow down and churn rises, not because the service is poor but because the expectations were unclear.

Becoming Forgettable

If your message isn’t sharp, people can’t repeat it. When someone asks what you do, the answer becomes vague and uncertain. Something about marketing or AI or systems. That’s a warning sign.

Clear brands are easy to describe and easy to remember. Blurry brands fade into the background.

What Control Looks Like in Branding

On a fireground command isn’t built by consensus. It’s established by a clear statement of who is in charge, what the situation is and what the plan looks like. Everyone then works within that structure.

Brand command follows the same logic. One person holds final authority over positioning, tone and key claims. That person doesn’t need to write everything, but they set the framework that others work within. When that framework is stable, teams can move faster because they aren’t reinventing the message each time.

A clear hierarchy also matters. You need a primary message that defines who you serve and what outcome you deliver, supported by a small set of key reasons to choose you and backed by proof. This structure gives direction without slowing creativity.

Tone discipline plays a role too. Clear words, real examples and simple claims build trust. Vague language erodes it.

The Cost of No Command

If no one owns your message, you pay for it quietly every day. You pay in bounce rates, longer sales cycles, lower conversions and wasted ad spend. You also pay in internal friction when teams pull in different directions.

I’ve seen companies improve results simply by putting one person in charge of message clarity and holding that line over time.

How To Fix It

Choose your message controller and make their authority clear. Build a simple message map that answers who you serve, what problem you solve, what result you give and what the next step is. Then review your touchpoints and bring them into alignment. This isn’t a cosmetic task. It’s an operational one.

Maintaining clarity takes discipline. Messages drift if no one watches them, just like incidents drift if no one leads them.

The Real Question

Fires don’t go out on their own and confused markets don’t sort themselves out either. Someone must take responsibility for direction and hold it steady.

So the question isn’t whether your message matters. The question is whether you’re prepared to take command of it, or whether you’ll let noise and mixed signals keep costing you opportunities. Because once command is established, chaos settles and progress becomes possible. And in business, just like on the fireground, progress usually starts when one person decides to lead.