The Great Conversation

I met a leader who is a Doctor of Law (JD), is certified on the Essentials of Workplace Violence and Intervention through ASIS , an Instructor at a world-renowned Advanced Threat Assessment Academy, and is a strategic partner in the vision and mission of her organization. In her role as instructor, she teaches representatives from government, law enforcement, higher education and K12, mental/brhav...

I tracked down an incredible thought leader on systems and practices. I thought we would be exploring how to execute. Instead, I found a set of ideas that can be put into action. This is important. A set of ideas is not a task list or a set of commands. If they become that, you are in danger of not finding out what works and what doesn’t. Because you have given them the recipe but not the authorit...

Scott Lindahl, VP Corporate Services & Chief Security Officer, at Kellogg Company sat down with me in a great conversation around his journey that led him to begin using this language and adopting the behavior of a corporate leader. Scott’s journey entailed working in manufacturing, retail, financial services as well as a small security services firm. Along the way he studied how salespeople inter...

I am always looking for the seeds of a disruptive new way of thinking. This often is the genesis of a new model for doing business or a new model for governance within a family, association, community, or nation. From this, new tools are provided to affect the idea and the model. New technologies are created. In this great conversation, we speak with Marisa Randazzo, Ph. D, Executive Director for...

Voracious Learners! Monica Duperon Rodriquez is Senior Manager of Global Security and Risk Management (Executive Protection) at LinkedIn. When we sat down to have a great conversation, she immediately drew me into her path to creating a team. What we find is a deep understanding that developing people and teams takes an investment in knowing who they are. From there you can begin to create partner...

If a CEO’s primary role is navigating risk and opportunity, then they must have a risk, resilience, and security team who is prepared to be at the table. To be prepared, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) and their team must understand the unique value of their role in supporting the mission and vision of the company. Then they must organize around the interconnected relationships of others who are...

I meet many people who are unconscious competents. They intuitively know what to do, and largely are successful at doing it. And then there are the conscious competents. They took the time to understand what they do including the why of it, and the value of it. They document, teach, and, most importantly for any leader competing for funds, sell their program to their stakeholders. I met Bill Marci...

One of the leaders in our Great Conversation community sent me a brief but compelling message: I want to introduce you to Hans Nyamie for your next Great Conversation. Hans is one of the most interesting people I have spoken with in a long time. He is focused on facility space planning and technology. When I went to his LinkedIn it told me very little Workplace and FM Systems Specialist (incl: Agi...

Our world operates on a highly leveraged business model that depends on the belief in a civil society. A society of agreed upon values doesn’t require police presence in every store and stoplight. There are laws that are respected and adhered to by an engaged citizenry. But what happens when this breaks down? Where there is intentionality in the crime, you have a mindset and a process that you can...

Vitaly Geyman had a great conversation with us several months ago that we called “The Organization is not a Machine; It is a Person”. We explored the traditional view and practice that led to the organizations being treated like a machine. Machines are meant to be programmed, streamlined, and optimized. Efficiency and predictability are the core principles. Management’s key responsibility is the m...

We need a wider lens in business. We have been trained to think in terms of specialization and we have created silos of information that serve our interests. But the platform for widening our lens is now available. And more than ever we need that lens. With that said, if we scrape the top layer of the news, we are dealing with illness as a threat, disinformation as a threat, privacy vs. safety and...

You only represent 2% of the population, but you are the most targeted religious group in the country with over 60% of the hate crimes committed against your constituency. You can’t sit on the sidelines. You must be engaged with the right people, process, technology, and partners if you hope to provide protection in the “most complex, dynamic, risk environment ever”. We engaged the Principal Deput...

Tyson Aiken is a former executive at Nike with an intelligence background from the CIA. He left Nike and went on a journey exploring different opportunities in the commercial marketplace. When I spoke with him before and during his “sabbatical”, I discovered that his purpose and passion could never be realized in a typical security executive role. I felt he needed to be ‘at the executive table’, l...

CEOs manage risk and opportunity. How well they do that determines their path to value. So, who should be at the table helping the C-level team navigate risk and opportunity? What data should be collected, organized, analyzed, and communicated? How should it be contextualized to meet the needs of each departmental function? (HR, Legal, Finance, Operations, etc.). Once these questions are answered...

Every profession has its pioneers. The ones who worked with sticky notes and clunky first-generation SQL databases. They had the opportunity and skills to create, document, and teach their learnings to future generations. And they had a front row seat to how their ideas evolved into the future. Scott Stewart, Vice President of Intelligence for TorchStone Global ,  is one of those pioneers for prot...

In this conversation, we have the opportunity to dive into how technology may disrupt the executive protection profession. Most of us recognize that our brains are wired to resist uncertainty. We seem to grasp and hold on to the potential negative outcomes rather than seize the uncertain opportunities that stare us in the face. Mark Ledlow has dealt with uncertainty and fear. And he has been paid...

He is a successful entrepreneur ( Shooter Detection Systems ), CEO ( Milcom Security Solutions ), and a sought-after board advisor ( Fusus ). He is adept at identifying needs and finding the means to deliver value. It isn’t a surprise then, that he is flying to the border of Poland and Ukraine on Saturday, May 28, to attempt to make life a little bit easier for the soldiers and the refugees of thi...

The greatest challenge of our time is challenging the notion that our democratic ideals no longer work in a world dominated by authoritarians acting with impunity on the world stage. As well, when our own leaders or institutions fail us, we still need people who can stand in the gap. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Sen...

Thought leaders are defined by the mountains they climb, the vistas they see, and their ability to articulate to others the how and why of the journey. Adam Cambridge, a leader in Enterprise Risk Intelligence at Mitre , was recently acknowledged for his efforts in the Protective Intelligence profession at a summit hosted by Ontic . We explore how his education and experience created the foundation...

He was a Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer for Verizon, a veteran, and one of the highest-ranking special agents in the FBI (who happen to be black) before retiring and becoming a school bus driver. The bridge was easy to cross if you are a true servant leader. His name is Michael Mason. We know him well. He was one of the most captivating speakers at our Great Conversation events b...

“It was staring us in the face, but we just couldn’t see it.” This is the conundrum many face when it comes to navigating risk and opportunity. Many things conspire to keep us from seeing and seizing the opportunity. Organizational silos. Fear of change. Cost vs. Return on the Opportunity (different than ROI). I was fortunate to listen to a powerful story of navigating risk and opportunity by Onti...

She has traveled all over the world and her journey intersected with some of the pivotal moments in the world’s troubled history. But you would never know it. She is humble; a disarming openness that draws you in. And, once in, you can see why she has been successful. Wendy Bashnan is the CSO of Nielsen . Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience insights, data, a...

As I have watched many industries evolve, I have paid particular attention to those companies who have thrived in the midst of change. I also have taken note of the people who fought the change and tried to understand why? When the opportunity was uncertain, then control and constraint were the weapons they deployed. Where are they now? After speaking to our guest, I believe they either were left...

Get ready to take a deep breath. Imagine juggling the following: President of the National Economic Security Alliance Leadership Council Member of the National Business Association Senior Fellow Emeritus of Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the National In...

I first became acquainted with Jon Polly’s ideas and competencies through his articles on smart buildings and cities. I knew that many systems integrators and technology vendors were not equipped to carry on a great conversation on those topics. But security is no longer a silo. It is becoming deeply embedded in digital transformation initiatives at the corporate and consumer level. Design thinkin...