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Keeping the “executive” in executive protection

Over the next couple days I am going to talk about the risk of shaving back the security protocols that are incorporated in Executive protection in order to deal with certain clients in order to satisfy their needs. In these incidences it is mostly due to the company owner or specialist’s inability to articulate the necessity and/or purpose of the security protocol. The issue usually occurs when the client/protectee is not thoroughly aware of true executive protection and come to the table with a preconceived knock off version of what it truly is.

This is further exacerbated when the security provider representative is either unable to articulate the services OR he/she is so focused on closing the deal he/she is willing to make due with the shaved down security needs. The purpose of these blogs over the next couple is to stress the importance maintaining the “executive” in executive protection.

What you have to remember is that executive protection is far more than the visible perception of a specialist or team jumping out of vehicles with pigtails The unfortunate problem
Is that many specialist who are used to staff the detail are unaware of lessened established agreement between the provider and the client. This starts the bad learned behavior whereby the new and junior specialists think that what they are doing is the real deal. What you end up with is erroneous learned behavior that eventually is dispersed with each specialist as he/she ends the detail and returns to their respective homes. This can be infectious as they reintegrate themselves within other details or even worse, new clients where the cycle is repeated.

I am in no way implying that if you are not able to convince a client during the initial meeting of the importance of the executive protection protocols but it is vitally prudent to make sure you consult them on it. It is a legal responsibility to consult them from A to Z. Trust me, leaving out any small detail can and will come back to bite you if something goes wrong.

Here’s an example. If you can not articulate to a client why we conduct protective advances then you will lose that every time. It is more than some of the terms I have heard such “I need to survey the area and assess it.” What you have just done is told the client that it is a waste of time and money for for them. That is not what a protective advance is yet I consistently hear that as the definition and explanation. I am using protective advance as one example because for some reason many specialists feel that it is the main defining feature between plain ole security and EP. Protective advance work is a PART of what EP entails and is not what defines us from the average goon that is claiming he is delivering the service.

I am on the road working a detail and will continue this blog as time permits.

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