The answer…

What can an organization do to integrate security into its culture? They can begin by adopting the following strategies:

-  Create the position of (CSO) Chief Safety Officer and grant that individual access to the Board of Directors.

-  Ensure that those assigned responsibility for security receive adequate and ongoing training.

-  Make security an agenda item at every Board Meeting and senior staff meeting.

The role of culture…

Dollars aside, the real challenge for most organizations is the ability to integrate security into their corporate culture. To marry the two concepts effectively, executives must be able to define their organizational culture in concrete terms, and security must be seen an integral part of that culture, supported by senior management, and practiced on a daily basis!

The challenge…

Tragedies such as September 11th, Anthrax attacks, school shootings, incidents of workplace violence, cyber attacks and recent natural disasters have forever changed the landscape of security in our country. Before September 11th, we thought ourselves invincible; now, we recognize our vulnerability. Over the past eight years, our nation has scrambled to create an Office of Homeland Security, called upon the National Guard to provide support in disasters, increased the visibility and budgets of law enforcement agencies across the country and devoted significant resources to developing medical remedies for diseases once thought to be extinct.

It’s time to update training!

The process of training teachers, administrators, students, managers and employees to manage incidents of workplace violence has always been challenging and controversial. Many organizations have been reluctant to approach the subject based on the “Field of Dreams” myth; if you talk about it, it will come! While there has never been any reliable evidence that the discussion of violence perpetuates the act, organizations have been historically reticent when it comes to teaching their associates to recognize, intervene, and manage individuals exhibiting inappropriate behavior. The process has been further complicated by the concept of denial. Organizations believe that bad things happen to other people. At virtually every workplace violence incident, someone makes the statement; “we never thought it could happen here.” Lastly, in all too many cases, the training provided is woefully inadequate. A yearly one-hour lunch-and-learn is hardly sufficient to prepare a even the most experienced emergency responder to mange a traumatic and life-threatening event.

The tragic massacre at Virginia Tech once again brought school violence to the foreground and sparked discourse across the country as to how such a terrifying and horrific act could occur. Talking heads lined up in droves to give their personal opinions as to how the police responded, how the college reacted, how this could have been prevented, and raised the question of who’s to blame for such an atrocious act. It didn’t seem to matter that most of these individuals were journalists or academic professionals with no training or practical experience in preventing or managing violence…they simply couldn’t wait to paint a picture of incompetence and posit simple answers to very complex problems. We purposely avoided the fray at the time, but feel it necessary now to bring what I believe is a more balanced and factual analysis of the events that unfolded on that fateful morning.

It is important for executives to remember that when they arrive home and greet their families, they still represent interests that may expose them to danger, and in turn, endanger their families as well. For that reason, development of a family and residential security plan is considered as important as any other facet of a robust executive protection program. Technology enhancements, liaison with law enforcement, attentiveness to surroundings and changes in neighborhood dynamics are all areas of consideration for the executive protection consultant to address. Garage access for all family cars as well as direct access to an alarmed home will immediately offer shielding from the public eye and will afford family members ease of secure access and departures. Obviously, children cause many other concerns and require specialized expertise for their daily protection. Cell phones, panic button pagers, communication trees with neighbors and other procedures will all aid in the development of a security program that will protect an executive’s family. The strict adherence to security protocols and the development of a security mindset will ultimately offer as much if not more enhancement to providing a secure environment for an executive’s family then the presence of bodyguards at their side each day.

Overseas travel should not be approached as just another business trip. Separate from taking precautions for medical emergencies, executives should have an appropriate travel itinerary advance conducted by executive protection professionals to guard against specific dangers facing them in countries they are visiting. A sample of items to be examined may include hotel selection, local travel by taxi or a vetted car service, in-country intelligence assessment that examines factors of local crime and violence, terrorism, anti-American sentiments, local areas to be avoided, local fraud schemes affecting business travelers and tourists and safety of traveling family members. Every step of an executive’s trip should be examined and addressed by an executive protection professional, and travel arrangements should be made only after consultation between this professional and the executive assistant making those arrangements. Similar security steps should be addressed for all traveling executive staff and key employees, especially when traveling to high-risk countries. Ensuring security advance preparations for all employees makes sense on a variety of levels. If an employee is faced with an emergency overseas, the company and executive will he held personally responsible for the safe return of that employee. It makes perfect sense for the company to take ownership of planning travel for employees with security in mind and avoid the escalation of a crisis with many legal, logistical and financial implications.

Celebrities, VIPs, high-ranking corporate executives and politicians are often seen in public surrounded by burly men with stern looks, dark shades and earpieces. In the executive protection business, we refer to this as “close protection”. In my former career as a United States Secret Service Agent – assigned for several years to the Presidential Protection Division at the White House – close protection of our “protectee” was just one facet of the multi-layered protocols used to safeguard elected officials and heads of state.