Similar to restaurants, in the security world you are only as good as your last “meal”. The challenging part is that when security operations are running smoothly nobody even notices the effort, commitment, and dedication of the security team. In fact, it is during these times that someone may comment “why do we even need security?” Even more challenging is the fact that a lot of people consider themselves “security experts” simply based on the fact that they have watched a few action packed movies.
As security professionals we have to accept that when it comes to our line of work, we always have to be on our game because it only takes one time. No matter how much work, effort, and training; it just takes one incident, one mistake, one perceived flaw; and the entire security department is under suspicion. Within a week’s time a security team can go from sharp and effective, to complacent and undesired. All it takes is one incident, one bad decision on the part of a security team member to undermine the hard work and dedication of the entire team.
In this way security coordinators are very similar to chefs who know that regardless of their previous day performance, customers want to see and experience the same if not better quality of food. Our ingredients are security concepts such access control, crime prevention through environmental design, and inspection procedures. As security coordinators we hope that our “menus” remain appealing and consistent but we ultimately know that it is up to the waiters (guards), kitchen supervisors (lead guards), hosts (receptionists), and administration to join us in our pursuit of excellence. Although we may not also get it right, through perseverance and a positive mental attitude we always move in the right direction.
If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. ~Buddhist Saying
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