"We must be part of the general staff at the inception, rather than the ambulance drivers at the bitter end"

This quote by Lane Kirkland is a call to action for people to be proactive in their efforts to make a difference. He is suggesting that instead of waiting till completion of a problem to attempt and repair it, we must be included from the start. He is comparing this to an ambulance motorist, who only gets here after the damage has been done. He is motivating people to be part of the general staff, who are associated with the planning and execution of a solution from the start. This quote is a pointer that we should not wait till the eleventh hour to do something about it, but instead be proactive and get involved early on. By doing this, we can help to prevent issues from taking place in the first location, instead of trying to repair them after the fact.