With more than twenty years of Executive Protection experience in the private and public sector, I have learned a lot about the similarities and differences of these two worlds. Yes, they share the same mission: to protect the Protectee from physical harm and reputational embarrassment. But the similarities kind of end there.
The differences are stark. From budgets, to personnel, to perceived authority – it is a completely different world. It is a world where a Protectee can just waive coverage and walk away from the protective detail - something a government official cannot do. But the biggest difference - and the point I want to make to you today - is the point I have been making to private sector Protectors for more than a decade – this is a business.
It comes down to who is paying the freight. As a police officer or military member, the bills were paid by the taxpayer. The taxpayers have almost no say in how that money is spent. If a public sector program or operation is performing poorly, it is very rarely disbanded or terminated. That was not my experience in the US government. Most often it was renamed and given more funding in an effort to get better results. In the government we did not have to go out and earn clients. They called 911, they made a complaint, or they elected an official who authorized the funding of the program that paid our bills.
This is the antithesis of the private sector.
In private sector EP, you have to go out and earn the trust and confidence of a client. You have to provide a concrete reason as to why a client should choose you, your firm, your service over all the others. And at the end of the day, the client is paying the bills. They vote every day with their money. Every single day they can decide to terminate the service. They do not have to give a reason. On a daily basis the Protector and the program are being evaluated. It is tough, it is demanding, and it requires a different approach than how someone did it in the government. This is the biggest difference.
So, my question today, and the question I ask every Protector I train is: Would you hire you? Would you spend your hard-earned money to hire yourself to protect that which you hold dear?
If your answer is: "hell yea" – great. If your answer is: "I'm not sure" – work on it. If your answer is: "I don't think so" – then why would you expect a client to pay for you?