Executive Protection Top 5 Secrets

Copyright (c) 2009 Dr Mark Yates

Executive Protection Top 5 Secrets #1

Know The Limitations of Executive Protection bodyguard companies

I've spent close to 20 years actively involved in all aspects of extremely high risk executive protection services as a professional bodyguard and adjunct instructor of exec protection training for hundreds of bodyguard companies in 42 different countries. One of the best kept exec protection security secrets is to know the limitations of exec protection bodyguard companies. I cannot emphasise how important this is.

I have frequently listened in to fellow exec protection instructors working full time direct for various bodyguard companies, informing exec protection students about how their executive protection training is the best in the world, and how their bodyguards are the special forces of the exec protection services industry.

In many of these bodyguard companies the poor level of exec protection training delivered to these aspiring bodyguards was woefully inadequate, to prepare them for anything above low risk bodyguard jobs within the domestic exec protection services industry.

Executive Protection Top 5 Secrets #2

Know Your Executive Protection Enemies Before You Consider A Professional Bodyguard Career

Out of the thousands of global bodyguard companies delivering exec protection training I have only come across two within the exec protection services industry who teach their bodyguards to know your exec protection enemies before you consider a professional bodyguard career. The relevance of this issue cannot be understated as I have witnessed bodyguard companies churning out production lines of exec protection bodyguards whose only focus is on the most obvious enemy. In the real world of executive protection services every professional bodyguard knows that the greatest compromise faced by most bodyguards comes from one of the other four enemies,

i.e. The first enemy of every professional bodyguard is him/her self. The second enemy is the spouse, girl/boy friend and family members of the executive protection services team members. Third is the local bureaucracy of the country in which you are conducting your exec protection services contract. Fourth is your exec protection client, VIP or Principal. The fifth enemy of every professional bodyguard is what every security expert deems the obvious enemy in the exec protection services threat assessment, typically a terrorist, organised crime organisation or the obvious perpetrator.

Executive Protection Top 5 Secrets #3

Know The Executive Protection Training Level Of Your Executive Protection Team Members

Throughout my exec protection services career I have survived several improvised explosive device explosions and grenade attacks, various knife attacks, a building bombing and more shoot-outs than Arnold Swarzeneeger. However the closest I ever came to losing my life was in a dark alley frequented by Soviet Troops and Soviet Mafia Hoods in Latvia. At the time I was working for several bodyguard companies as a freelance exec protection services team leader.

Most of the exec protection bodyguards I commanded had graduated as a professional bodyguard from some of the world's most reputable exec protection training bodyguard companies. However I was frequently tasked with leading teams of bodyguards who were hired in on a freelance casual labour basis. Their bodyguard companies were supposed to have checked their credentials and as a given should have ascertained they were highly skilled in exec protection training. In the pursuit of short term greed many of these bodyguard companies failed in their due diligence prior to hiring these bodyguards. Subsequently these poorly trained bodyguards caused many serious problems some of which compromised security and personal safety of the more professional exec protection services team members.

The closest I ever came to losing my life during an exec protection services contrac,t was because I didn't know the executive protection training level of your exec protection team members. I vowed never to compromise my personal security ever again by making that mistake. Take this on-board because it's great advice.

In my experience there are more than enough professional exec protection bodyguards working the international circuit to ensure you don't have to work with a less than fully skilled professional bodyguard.

Executive Protection Top 5 Secrets #4

Know Your Executive Protection Services Client/s

One of the most difficult aspects of being a professional bodyguard is getting to know your exec protection services client/s. This is despite having conducted hundreds of exec protection bodyguard jobs for clients across four continents.

Even though I conduct rigorous profile assessments and threat assessments for every individual exec protection services client and exec protection contract it is always difficult to really scratch below the surface to get to know your exec protection services client/s. When I deliver executive protection training for various international bodyguard companies I always advise every professional bodyguard in attendance that most executive protection services client/s will only tell you half the story.

By definition when a client hires the executive protection services of bodyguards there has been either an actual or perceived threat against that client or a member of his/her family or business associate.

Hiring bodyguards from any of the professional bodyguard companies is an expensive endeavour and it is often this reason why executive protection services client/s fail to provide all the relevant information. these executive protection clients, many of who are from a business owner background have been schooled in how to save money. If they downplay the threat against them they know the bodyguard companies will assign less executive protection bodyguards to protect them. Although it is obviously false economy and it's pre-programmed for failure I have personally experienced this with several executive protection clients.

You should never try to cut costs by failing to compile well researched profile and threat assessments prior to executive protection contract deployment for any of the bodyguard jobs you undertake. It is during the profile and threat assessment stage that you have the best opportunity to get know your executive protection services client/s.

Executive Protection Top 5 Secrets #5

Know When To Say No To Executive Protection Bodyguard Jobs

When aspiring bodyguards initially contact bodyguard companies to enrol on their executive protection training programmes with a view to winning bodyguard jobs, it is very tempting to say yes to every executive protection services contract that lands on their desk. The chance to recoup their executive protection training investment, and a burning desire to get their first executive protection services contracts under their belt are the main two reasons why they say yes to every contract. In reality, although it's a bitter pill to swallow, it is precisely at this early stage of your executive protection career when you have to know when to say no to executive protection bodyguard jobs.

I am the first to admit in the early stages of my executive protection career, my burning desire to prove myself as a professional bodyguard forced me to say yes to many executive protection services contracts, when I should have said no. It's one of those lessons that most executive protection training programmes fail to teach you. In reality if you don't learn to know when to say no to executive protection bodyguard jobs, your career could be short lived. I have personally witnessed several teams of bodyguards who have cut corners to save money when conducting their own executive protection training foolishly accept executive protection services contracts which sadly delivered fatal consequences on various bodyguard jobs.