Would I hire "me"?

"Would I hire 'me'? That is THE question!", to paraphrase Shakespeare, is really the question as both individuals and businesses we should be asking ourselves. If you are looking for work or currently working and wanting to move up or earn more pay, go to the mirror right now, ask yourself that very question, and be brutally honest with yourself as you answer it. If you hesitate, even in the slightest, the answer is "No". If you can't be honest with yourself (let's face it, most of us can't) then ask your spouse, parent, sibling, or close, REAL friend if they would hire you. Some of you will get a "Yes", but a large number will get a "No". What then?

The next step is to find out why you wouldn't hire you or they wouldn't hire you. Is it your character, appearance, attitude, work ethic, people skills, verbal skills, or technical skills? If you have character issues, you have a rough road ahead without some serious work on the ol' heart and soul. This requires a no-hold-barred approach with yourself and others and a knowledge of where you are weak in your character. In my opinion, it really is a spiritual issue that mandates that you be brutally honest with yourself in order to correct deficiencies. It is a painful road as you come face-to-face with your "Old Self" and work to make a new self.

These days, appearance, attitude, work ethic, people skills, and verbal skills are the biggest areas where people drop the ball. I have heard it said repeatedly that "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover." If we are talking about books then true, don't. There are a lot of good books out there with cheap, crummy covers. If we are talking about people, not only SHOULD you, you can't HELP but judge them by their appearance. Now, if you are a guy and are an artist, thespian, biker, or pirate, then by all means have long, unkempt hair, earrings, piercings, tattoos, full beard, and half-a-set of teeth. If you want to be taken seriously in business, especially in the professional world of security, conservative and clean cut/shaven is not just the norm, it is absolutely essential! This is why I generally prefer to employ former military or law enforcement personnel. They have had this drilled into them repeatedly day after day and usually get to the point where they can't stand or tolerate anything less. They develop a sense of pride in their appearance that the general populous typically lacks.

They generally take care of their uniforms better and wear them with a sense of pride. Untucked shirts, wrinkled clothes, dirt/unpolished shoes and boots, all of these are completely unsat and show that a person has a low self-image and/or doesn't give a rip about their job or the success of the company. Officers who display this attitude should either immediately correct or just be sent home without pay as this is completely unacceptable. If you have issues with appearance, check out the classic book Dress For Success by John Molloy. Professional style doesn't change.

One of the biggest challenges as an owner is getting employees to see themselves not as employees, but as co-owners. Now there may be some officers/employees reading this that say "Well, I am not the owner of the company. I don't own any stock. Heck, I don't even get paid that much. Why SHOULD I care as much as the owner?" Good question, but one that every employee should be able to answer. An employee that takes ownership of their job and their performance will inevitably outperform their co-workers and peers, attract new business and business growth, and earn more promotions and higher pay than their peers. If they are part of a small business, they can literally "create" their next job position and pay. If there is no room for growth in the current business, they can seek a new job and command better pay. Those individuals that do not take ownership of their job, will inevitably cycle from job to job without much vertical movement.

The reason so few employees take the ownership attitude is because they have not been TAUGHT our country's system of business or entrepreneurship, either in school or at home. This is horribly sad and borders on criminal. America has become the greatest nation on the planet because of the ability of the average person to start a business from scratch, regardless of birth or background, and become successful. For our education system to teach our children NOTHING about it is absolutely reprehensible and unforgivable. But once a person moves into adulthood, they owe it to themselves to understand it, even if they do not choose to become a business owner.

The bottom line is, we all need to take a good, hard look in the mirror and answer the question "Would I hire me?" We all need to take ownership of our lives and jobs and develop the sense of personal pride in everything we do that our Forefathers had. Maybe taking a page out of our Grandfather's and Grandmother's past, the generation known as the "Greatest Generation", would do all of us some good.

Is using a security sign alone an effective deterrent?

Well, the answer for the most part is going to be "No" but it is certainly better than nothing. To the criminal that is not very determined and is looking for an easy grab, a sign may be just enough to make them pass by for another target. To a more experienced or more determined criminal, a sign alone will not cut it.

So many of these criminals are aware that people use signs and stickers all the time and really do not have a system. Many times these criminals will "case" the target, looking for camera locations, control pads, door/window contacts, and motion/IR detection systems. They may test the system by breaking/prying a window or door and monitor response times of the police in the area. It is difficult to deter this type of criminal with just a sticker or sign. They know what to look for and have a good idea how long they can remain before there will be a response.

What if your residence or business is in a rural or out-of-the-way area? Even a not-so-intelligent criminal knows that response times in these areas are going to be really, REALLY slow-to-non-existent. This is with an alarm or NOT. What to do?

There are many things you can do. If you do not have an alarm system, get one. They are relatively inexpensive to have installed and very inexpensive to have monitored. If you are in an area that has a rapid armed alarm service such as ours, get it. We GUARANTEE a response to EVERY alarm in a very quick manner. There is some incredible piece of mind to be gained from knowing that someone is looking out for YOU and you alone.

A dog is an incredible deterrent to crime. Many criminals will quickly find another target if a dog is involved. Lighting....get some good area lighting to illuminate the exterior of your home. Criminals do not like to be seen. Keep shrubbery/plants well trimmed around your home/office and eliminate or minimize "hide spots" where a criminal can operate relatively unseen. Surveillence cameras are also a great option and the prices have come down significantly. Again, criminals do not like to be seen.

Of course, make sure you have quality latches and hardware on your doors and windows to impede a criminals attempts to gain access. It would be nice if they were actually locked, too. So many times criminals gain easy access through unlocked windows and doors. And do not leave your garage door open overnight. That is like a Golden Corral for would-be thieves.

Until next time....

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