The Executive Protection Professional

What constitutes an EP professional? One worth looking up to? Following? Training with? Is it their social media pictures and videos? Pictures of Chucks or Vans on a suitcase? Pictures of them holding guns, wearing a shemagh, or posing in front of luxury vehicles? Is it because they have a podcast, are on a board, a technical committee or write articles? Is it their background? Is it who they work or worked for? In my experience, all the above are why people follow others and almost all of them are wrong.

?And this is coming from doing or having the above experience - or at least I do as far as you know — I may have a picture of me holding a gun somewhere out there…I co-host a podcast and have been on a few, I have been on a board, several technical committees and written a slew of articles. Does any of that make me competent? No.

Sure, you have related experience for the lowest level of the role, but that's not the same as direct experience for the whole role.

?So how do you know I walk the talk in the industry? The fact is, you don’t unless you have worked with me, which is why we find ourselves here. There are plenty of talking head/“industry famous” people out in the wild that don’t do protection, at all, don’t do it well, and likely should not do it at all. These are instructors, business owners, podcasters, etc., who all talk a good game but aren’t walking the walk - or rather not as much of the walk as they talk (and no, that was not a Dr. Seuss influenced sentence).

And just because people talk like they’re in a Jason Bourne movie (assets/operators anyone?), doesn’t mean they know a principle from a principal.

I know, I know, the FBI, Secret Service -been there, done it all. Nope. You may have done it all in your segment of the industry, (one of six or seven by the way) but apples to apples? - absolutely not. If security doesn’t equate to law enforcement, how can law enforcement equate to security? It can't and doesn't. Sure, you have related experience for the lowest level of the role, but that's not the same as direct experience for the whole role. And just because people talk like they’re in a Jason Bourne movie (assets/operators anyone?), doesn’t mean they know a principle from a principal.

I get it, a very small portion of what we do can be sexy. Most of what we do isn't. There is a low barrier to entry and it is assumed that anyone can do what we do. Anytime there is a low barrier to entry, in most states I can just call myself a bodyguard and I am one, there is a low expectation of value.

If you take exception or offense to this article, good. We can do better and hold ourselves to higher expectations and standards for what we do.

Admiration and respect in the industry, should focus on content of communication, value, competence, and contribution at the team, organization and industry levels. Positional authority, or what someone did in a past career (ex-blah, blah, blah) or who they work for now, really has no bearing on how good they were or are. If you take exception or offense to this article, good, we can do better and hold ourselves to higher expectations and standards for what we do. We have to see and project what it is we truly do, how we do it and the value you we provide.

?