Jeffrey A Slotnick, CPP, PSP, President, Setracon tells Security Journal Americas Editor, Victoria Hanscomb, why effectively leading others means letting them learn from their mistakes.
“Like many, I began my security career when I left the US military,” Slotnick began.
“With this skillset, a formal education in business management and the right clearance, I was placed on a classified project to protect nuclear devices in Europe, undertaking quality control for a contractor that was installing physical security systems.”
This experience allowed Slotnick to learn all about the security industry, although was heavily focused on environmental design such as gates, barriers, lighting and fences.
In 1999, Slotnick decided to create his own business and become a security guard.
After two years, he joined ASIS International and learned about executive protection. This was when he turned to consulting.
“Having a background in engineering, business management, quality management and then security meant that when one of my clients approached me to complete a critical review of their facility, I was up for the task,” Slotnick remarked.
Through a friend met at ASIS, Slotnick was able to conduct the risk, threat and vulnerability assessment.
This was when Setracon was born – combined out of the words ‘security, training and consulting’.
Eventually, Slotnick came to promote the idea of resiliency – helping organizations to understand the importance of preparation.
In the latter part of his career, he has been focused on engaging more businesses in identifying the threats that pose a risk to them and applying management tools to combat these, while helping the C-suite to identify vulnerabilities and demonstrate the security function’s value to the rest of a business.
Although he has had some impactful mentors, Slotnick emphasized that he has still failed at certain points in his career. “Everybody that knows success has failed,” he explained. “You learn through failure. You learn through the mistakes you’ve made.”
When he first entered the security industry, Slotnick maintained the military attitude that he was there to ‘save the day’.
He was very direct in his conversation and had to learn to communicate.
He explained that his clients were trying to define their issues but he was jumping ahead – already trying to find a solution.
Instead of listening, understanding and comprehending the depth and breadth of the issue, he lost out on a few projects because he didn’t take the time to speak with them properly.
“I have had mentors that have told me I need to step back. I need to listen. I need to be more of an investigator,” he said.
From his, Slotnick learned how to collaborate and speak the language of the C-suite.
While the news he was delivering wasn’t always what they wanted to hear, he discovered how to tell them what they needed to know.
Slotnick commented that this shaped his leadership style over the years and a lot of volunteer work in non-profits additionally helped him to become more collaborative.
“When I was in the military, I was what you would call an eclectic leader and knew how to build someone up by giving them constructive criticism to help them succeed,” he said.
“But one mentor of mine told me that it’s not about how well things function when you’re there. It’s about how well things function when you’re not there. That’s the whole point of leadership.”
From that point, Slotnick understood that leadership is not about developing yourself, it’s about building up others.
The same mentor also taught him how to write, which has been very useful when reading standards and applying them.
“That has paid dividends to me throughout my career,” he said. “All these experiences have guided me and helped me to become the professional that I am.”
Before training anyone, it’s essential to conduct an initial assessment, Slotnick remarked.
“When we get called into an organization that has requested training, our first question is to ask what they want to get out of the training? What are the specific skill sets that they would like their employees to have at the end of training?”
This upfront work ensures that the client is satisfied with the outcome of the program, as it provides clear direction.
Slotnick added that people learn differently – some are visual learners, whereas others are auditory or kinesthetic.
“So, any good training program, especially when it comes to adult learning theory, has to take all three learning styles into account,” he said.
As a teacher, the aim is to know the student. “If you see a student struggling to gain a concept, you don’t throw them out of class.
“You remediate them by coming in early or staying after training or getting with them at lunchtime to ensure their success.”
He explained that the same principle applies to training, where putting in a little bit of extra effort can help to enable students to learn effectively.
Another key facet that Slotnick mentioned was honesty.
“Some students, especially when it comes to advanced physical skills in the security industry like firearms, restraints or baton, are simply not cut out for that.
“You need to be able to have an honest conversation with them and at the same time, allow them to identity their true skills.”
Discussing how the security industry often talks about AI and machine learning without truly understanding what these technologies are, Slotnick noted that this lack of education and an unwillingness to embrace new processes is making it difficult for some to look to the horizon and prepare.
“Otherindustries like healthcare, transportation and manufacturing have already embraced or are embracing a lot of these concepts and we’re behind,” he said.
“They can bring a lot of benefits, specifically in risk analysis, but security is lagging.”
Slotnick highlighted that the key is to know what type of data to bring into a business.
For example, if an employee who usually works 9 to 5 comes into the office at 3am, that might be considered as suspicious behavior.
If the company’s systems aren’t connected however, there may be no way for the security team to know they have come in. If that employee were to be stealing from the organization, it may be too late by the time it is caught.
“If a camera picked up that someone was entering the office at a strange time and the card revealed who they were, with HVAC and lighting systems coming on upon entry, then it’s much easier for security teams to be alerted to potential malicious intent,” Slotnick said.
“It might not be an issue, it could be that this person wanted to come into the office early or forgot something there, but it’s certainly worth a conversation.”
AI and machine learning can help us to know when this behavior is normal and when it deserves more attention, he added, by providing security teams with alerts that flag certain abnormalities.
This can make a business more resilient as they can prevent potential incidents.
External data, such as crime statistics and weather reports, can be added into this concept, forming a centralized data lake that is processed to the advantage of enterprises.
Slotnick said that the fifth Industrial Revolution that is currently underway is questioning how human beings interface with technology.
“We need to ask, ‘do I really need a guard in the lobby?’ or is there a device that can do the same thing in the lobby to identify bad behavior, check credentials or complete visitor management checks,” he said.
He emphasized that security guards will never go away, because humans need to be the judge of information, but it’s crucial to train people to redefine their roles in partnership with technology.
It’s vital to prepare people to coexist with technology.
“Further into the future, we’re going to be seeing the impact of quantum computing,” he said.
“We need to start thinking about this technology now, otherwise we will be behind the power curve and the technology will move faster than our industry.”
He said that the benefit of younger generations coming into the security industry means that they already accept these kinds of technologies – or at least are more used to them.
“Younger people coming into the industry are more familiar with certain platforms and that can help them when learning how to use and adapt to technology.”
Slotnick left with the message that people in the security industry should think about mentorship of the next generation.
“Don’t be afraid to take somebody under your wing to prepare them and share your skills with them,” he said.
“They’re not a threat to you. They’re actually the people that are going to be here ten years after you retire.”
He explained that bringing them up the right way in the industry means giving them opportunities to fail so that they can learn to be better.
“As I said at the beginning, everyone that has been successful has failed along the way.
“The question is: What do you do with that failure? How do we apply it so that we don’t fail again? This is what we need to impart to the next generation.”
This article was originally published in the December edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
