10 Tools for Workplace Violence Prevention
In 1994, I co-wrote Ticking Bombs: Defusing Violence in the Workplace, which was one of the first books published on this complex and potentially tragic business security issue. The centerpiece of the book featured my prison interview with Robert Mack, who in January 1992, had shot and killed the HR supervisor handling his termination from General Dynamics in San Diego, and shot and wounded his boss (who later died from his wounds in the same incident).
In retrospect, my interview with Mack fell into the same trap that we see in the news media coverage of workplace and school shootings, even 17 years later: an attempt to answer the question of motive. From the US Post office shootings in the 1980’s, through Columbine and Virginia Tech, to the recent incident in Tucson, Arizona involving Congresswoman Giffords, our collective understanding of the “why” behind workplace and school-based shootings often centers around the media’s constant search for an understandable motive.
The problem with this attempt is that it is rarely satisfying. Perhaps the motive in a workplace shooting was revenge for a perceived bullying incident involving a co-worker or supervisor; or in response to a termination; or for a domestic violence-related shooting, because the suspect’s former wife began dating a co-worker.
The point here is that the search for a motive is an exercise in futility because it doesn’t answer the presenting question: How do we stop these people, males or females, young or old, students or employees, patients or strangers, customers or taxpayers, angry citizens or ex-boyfriends, from shooting people who they believed have harmed them in some way?
Shouldn’t our national focus be about interrupting the opportunity, as opposed to constantly searching for or trying to understand a motive, which may or may not ever be known? Our collective actions as security practitioners should be centered exclusively on knocking the subject, as the US Secret Service calls it in their insightful research about shooters, “off of the path from ideas to actions.”
What follows is a set of tools for your security toolkit, each when used effectively and early enough can help you and your colleagues in HR, Legal, EAP, and the other stakeholders in the organization, to intervene in cases involving threats from people inside or outside the facility.
Better Background Checks and Hiring Practices
If the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, then we need to do a better job of pre-screening the people we let behind our corporate walls. The applicant should do most of the heavy lifting here, by providing waivers for background screens done by reputable investigative firms; written permissions to contact former employers; copies of past performance evaluations; and answers to interview questions not just about technical competencies, but about their previously-demonstrated ability to fit in to a team and work with others at all levels.
Constant Security / Access Control Improvements
Since many big security changes are made in the aftermath of an incident, we need to be better at making smaller improvements over time. It’s not necessarily the installation of a $100,000 CCTV system that will keep the facility safe; it’s often more about making sure all of the key card readers work and that employees are taught, told, and reminded not to prop open the facility side doors. Small changes and security upgrades over time can be easier for senior management to swallow and can reinforce the idea that a protection mindset is always in place.
A Challenge Culture for Employees
Every employee should feel like he or she is in charge of keeping the facility safe. There should be visible rewards (public praise, time off, gift cards) for employees who report physical security problems. There should be support and an immediate response to employees who report behavioral problems, threats, or criminal activities involving co-workers, customers, or strangers, so that the culture does not “shoot the messenger” when it gets news that is not always positive.
High-Risk “Customer” Service Training
If your employees deal with customers, vendors, or taxpayers who have the potential to become enraged over their receipt of the goods or services you provide, then they will want and need training. This includes training for the critically-important reception and front desk personnel, call center employees, and others who are the public face of your firm.
Hunters or Howlers?
Dr. Fred Calhoun and Steve Weston have done significant research, training, and writing to support their groundbreaking model that some people “howl” (make overt threats, draw attention to themselves, frighten others intentionally) and some people “hunt” (develop a hidden plan, acquire the tools to harm others, work in stealth, and attack with little or no warning).
Organizations are often overly-responsive to the attention-seeking howler (evacuating the facility for a phoned-in bomb threat with no details or no suspicious devices found upon search) and either unaware, or worse, overly-rationalizing for a hunter who uses menace over verbal threats.
As Calhoun and Weston so accurately put it:”Howlers don’t hunt and Hunters don’t howl. When Howlers start to hunt, they are no longer Howlers.”
The exception to the Hunter-Howler threat dynamic is when the victim and the suspect have had a previous sexual relationship. When the suspect says, “If I can’t have her, no one else will,” we take these threats very seriously, as they are the mark of a hunter.
Safe / Humane Discipline and Terminations
It is the desire of many HR folks to be rid of the problematic employee as soon as possible. This may be intuitive (especially since HR has a larger population of female directors and employees), but it can also create the possibility of revenge as a reason for the harshly-disciplined or the just-terminated ex-employee’s return to the facility.
Many organizations that see the wisdom of a humane HR approach use the concept called “benevolent severance.” Here, the terminated employee who has been fired for threatening behaviors is given a parting package that may involve severance, continued medical benefits, access to continued EAP care, outplacement help, agreement for how to handle reference calls, and a single point of contact in the HR office to manage his or her needs. These are not rewards; they are transition tools.
Consequence-Based HR and Security Department Thinking
For those of you with dogs and children, you know this to be true: if there are no consequences for the behavior, you can expect either no changes or escalation. There must be consequences for employee behaviors that put the organization at risk. The HR and Security Departments can do their parts by supporting the frontline supervisors and department heads; using coaching as a best, pre-discipline step to focus on small behavioral issues (where warnings and reminders about policies can help); and enforcing the progressive discipline and security / access control policies in ways that suggest the company is firm, fair, consistent, and especially, proactive.
Threat Assessment Teams (TATs)
The key to safety and success when responding to any threat of workplace violence is the use of Threat Assessment Teams. By gathering the stakeholders into a room or via conference call, we can get a lot of work done and come up with a viable plan in a relatively short time span. This includes representatives from HR, Security, Corporate Counsel, EAP or other mental health professionals, local law enforcement if applicable, the union representatives, safety and facility directors, and any others who can contribute to the knowledge about the person, the incident, and potential solutions.
Safe Rooms and WPV Drills
Like the use of TATs, the next best response to the threat of an actual active shooter is the use of safe rooms, or so-called “shelter in place” protocols. The use of safe rooms in school shootings and workplace violence incidents has been proven to save lives, with the caveat that it is not a perfect solution to the homicidal intent of a perpetrator. Safe rooms could include a break room, restroom, training room, conference room, supervisor’s office, storage closet, or any other room that can be locked or barricaded.
Obviously, the first response to an active shooter in the building is to evacuate to a place of safety outside the facility. If that isn’t possible, then the safe room concept (hiding out) offers the next best solution to getting out.
Courageous Management
All of the previous nine are useless without this last one. Business owners, executives, directors, department heads, and frontline supervisors need to have and exhibit courage to respond to any potential workplace violence threat. There is a tendency on these cases to “wish it away” and hope that inaction will lead to minimization. The reverse is usually true.
We aren’t trying to create a nation of tattle-tale employees. We aren’t trying to turn our workspaces into locked-down prison camps. We aren’t trying to make it no fun to come to work. We are, in contrast, trying to be responsive to potential behavioral, HR, and security situations that may put the organization at risk.
Bio note: Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based speaker, author, trainer, and consultant on high-risk HR and security issues. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
Be More Like Zeus at Work: The Art of Covert Leadership
Maybe the Greeks had it right. Sometimes the best powers are the ones used sparingly, covertly, but effectively, and always boldly. Perhaps the New Year will give you the reason you need to start acting more like Zeus and less like Bruce (Willis, to be exact).
Try to find a big-revenue action movie starring Bruce Willis in the lead, where he is asked to simply watch the activities instead of always initiating some type of mega-change. There isn’t such an example on any celluloid or digital print, because Bruce takes charge and people know it from the first frame.
But how about if we consider that in the real world, business leaders can take charge from the edges of the issue, not the center of it. Zeus, known to the ancient Greeks as the “king of the gods,” is usually depicted in two roles: either tossing down thunder and lighting from the skies, or sitting on his throne, observing events on earth below. One portrayal suggests action; the other reflection.
Being a boss means that you hold power over your people. Some of this power is actual – you can hire, fire, and promote them – and some is symbolic – we use titles in business to denote rank, just like in politics or the military.
Actual power means that you control the activities of employees and you have “economic power” over their tasks, pay, hours, and work locations. Symbolic power means they (should) look to you for leadership, in good times and in bad, based on your experience, education, job knowledge, and ability to think creatively and into the future.
Of course, having a title does not automatically mean people will respect you. Having plenty of power and no respect from the employees rarely leads to positive outcomes, especially over the long term (unless you count low morale, retention issues, and vicious behind-your-back gossip as positive outcomes).
Some business owners, managers, and supervisors attempt to demonstrate their leadership by being too involved with the daily operations of their departments or facilities. They work in the business instead of on the business. The difference is crystalline: the former is caught up in the minutiae of day-to-day activities (otherwise known as “firefighting”); the latter is more focused on the strategic direction of the team, department, or organization.
Getting stuck in the tall grass of endless details is not only tiring personally, it’s tiring professionally. In other words, you go home tired and your employees get weary of their boss always riding to the rescue, trying to fix what isn’t really broken, or obsessing over small matters (the background color in draft versions of PowerPoint slides), instead of presiding over big ones.
Take a simple staff meeting for example, and start by asking yourself, “WWZD?” (What Would Zeus Do?) In most cases, he would sit back in his chair, stroke his beard (metaphorically, of course, since having facial hair or being a male is not required to match the model), and watch the process.
When the group gets stuck on some issue, as they invariably do, he would wait to see if they can solve it themselves. If not, then it’s time for a pithy suggestion, perhaps an illustrating story, or an idea that is unusual.
When this unsticks the group, Zeus can lean back again and repeat the process, watching and waiting for the opportunity (if necessary) to provide another useful solution that supports the team by building upon what they have already discussed or attempted.
After the third or fourth pass, where Zeus has said nothing other than the occasional comment that unclogs the creative or operational pipeline, the group members start to turn, almost intuitively, to their male or female Zeuses, to look forward to the forthcoming idea. This is covert leadership at its finest, where the leader knows he or she is respected for his or her ideas as opposed to mere titles on business cards.
Covert leaders don’t assume their people will follow them; they demonstrate why their people can follow them by being present at the meeting, but not ruling it via the thunderbolt. Your people already know you’re in charge of the business, department, team, or them. There is no need to remind them by micro-managing every meeting into an exercise in reverse delegation chaos. “If I want something done right, I’ll do it myself” was not in Zeus’ vocabulary and it shouldn’t be part of your leadership approach either.
The best leaders are the ones who operate covertly, in stealth, and by letting their people function, solve problems single-handedly, or as part of the natural group back-and-forth team processes. You can lead from a distance, and all while being in the same room.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based consultant and author on HR and security issues. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
Try to find a big-revenue action movie starring Bruce Willis in the lead, where he is asked to simply watch the activities instead of always initiating some type of mega-change. There isn’t such an example on any celluloid or digital print, because Bruce takes charge and people know it from the first frame.
But how about if we consider that in the real world, business leaders can take charge from the edges of the issue, not the center of it. Zeus, known to the ancient Greeks as the “king of the gods,” is usually depicted in two roles: either tossing down thunder and lighting from the skies, or sitting on his throne, observing events on earth below. One portrayal suggests action; the other reflection.
Being a boss means that you hold power over your people. Some of this power is actual – you can hire, fire, and promote them – and some is symbolic – we use titles in business to denote rank, just like in politics or the military.
Actual power means that you control the activities of employees and you have “economic power” over their tasks, pay, hours, and work locations. Symbolic power means they (should) look to you for leadership, in good times and in bad, based on your experience, education, job knowledge, and ability to think creatively and into the future.
Of course, having a title does not automatically mean people will respect you. Having plenty of power and no respect from the employees rarely leads to positive outcomes, especially over the long term (unless you count low morale, retention issues, and vicious behind-your-back gossip as positive outcomes).
Some business owners, managers, and supervisors attempt to demonstrate their leadership by being too involved with the daily operations of their departments or facilities. They work in the business instead of on the business. The difference is crystalline: the former is caught up in the minutiae of day-to-day activities (otherwise known as “firefighting”); the latter is more focused on the strategic direction of the team, department, or organization.
Getting stuck in the tall grass of endless details is not only tiring personally, it’s tiring professionally. In other words, you go home tired and your employees get weary of their boss always riding to the rescue, trying to fix what isn’t really broken, or obsessing over small matters (the background color in draft versions of PowerPoint slides), instead of presiding over big ones.
Take a simple staff meeting for example, and start by asking yourself, “WWZD?” (What Would Zeus Do?) In most cases, he would sit back in his chair, stroke his beard (metaphorically, of course, since having facial hair or being a male is not required to match the model), and watch the process.
When the group gets stuck on some issue, as they invariably do, he would wait to see if they can solve it themselves. If not, then it’s time for a pithy suggestion, perhaps an illustrating story, or an idea that is unusual.
When this unsticks the group, Zeus can lean back again and repeat the process, watching and waiting for the opportunity (if necessary) to provide another useful solution that supports the team by building upon what they have already discussed or attempted.
After the third or fourth pass, where Zeus has said nothing other than the occasional comment that unclogs the creative or operational pipeline, the group members start to turn, almost intuitively, to their male or female Zeuses, to look forward to the forthcoming idea. This is covert leadership at its finest, where the leader knows he or she is respected for his or her ideas as opposed to mere titles on business cards.
Covert leaders don’t assume their people will follow them; they demonstrate why their people can follow them by being present at the meeting, but not ruling it via the thunderbolt. Your people already know you’re in charge of the business, department, team, or them. There is no need to remind them by micro-managing every meeting into an exercise in reverse delegation chaos. “If I want something done right, I’ll do it myself” was not in Zeus’ vocabulary and it shouldn’t be part of your leadership approach either.
The best leaders are the ones who operate covertly, in stealth, and by letting their people function, solve problems single-handedly, or as part of the natural group back-and-forth team processes. You can lead from a distance, and all while being in the same room.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based consultant and author on HR and security issues. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Using a Coaching Script for Employee Hygiene Problems
Using a Coaching Script for Employee Hygiene Problems
There are two times where coaching is a useful intervention tool for supervisors: to address workplace performance issues or to address workplace behavioral issues.
Coaching is useful to help supervisors talk about four key areas within these performance or behavior realms: violation of policies and procedures (harassment, theft, substance abuse, threats, etc.); work performance (quality, missing deadlines, etc.); attendance (coming in late, leaving early, misusing breaks and lunches); and attitude (sarcasm, rudeness, or disrespect to supervisors, co-workers, or customers).
The question that arises with some supervisors is, “When do I have the right to discuss an off-the-job issue with an employee?’’
The answer is, “When it impacts the business of the department in a negative way.”
While we don’t want to pry into employees’ personal lives, we do have the right, duty, and obligation as supervisors to address issues or behaviors that make it hard for all employees to serve customers, work with others, or do their jobs.
In their book Crucial Conversations, Kerry Patterson and three co-authors discuss how to talk about tough topics with employees. They define “crucial conversations” as those where “opinions vary, stakes are high, and emotions run strong.”
This idea is one that can help both parties to see that the important discussion is not about a personality conflict, retaliation, passive-aggressive behavior, avoidance, or emotions. Rather, the focus centers on what the employee does or doesn’t do, should do differently, and how the issue at hand impacts the business in a negative way.
Once the supervisor gets the employee’s commitment to change (a key goal), he or she should begin to follow the agreed-upon policy or solution immediately.
Any “business impact” discussion should include the consequences for non-compliance, which could mean the possibility of progressive discipline.
By focusing on the employee’s behaviors, by not using labels to describe what are actually behaviors, and being firm, fair, and consistent, the supervisor and the employee can get through a crucial conversation.
The Poor Hygiene Coaching Conversation:
As a rule, most hygiene problems have a foundation in five possible areas:
1. a medical problem (excessive sweating, sleep apnea, or as an adverse reaction to oral medications).
2. a stress or mental health issue (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, a obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding, or a disconnection from reality).
3. a revenge issue (wanting to retaliate against another employee or a supervisor, i.e., “I’ll wear these same clothes every day for a week; that’ll show them!”).
4. a cultural issue (some people from other cultures or other countries are less concerned with hygiene than those in the US).
5. unaware of the impact on others (the employee rides his or her bike to work or exercises at lunch and doesn’t shower afterwards).
The following suggestions can help the concerned (but reluctant) supervisor to address an employee’s hygiene problem. You don’t have to read this word for word to the employee; just pick out the themes that work best for the employee or the hygiene concerns in question.
Supervisor: “If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you in private about a work issue. This is an uncomfortable yet necessary part of my job. As hard as this is to talk about, I have some concerns that your body odor and/or soiled clothing is making it hard for other people to be around you. I’ve seen for myself that it’s affecting your co-workers and our vendors and customers in a way that’s not good for our business. I’m sure it’s embarrassing for you and it’s not my intention to make you feel worse.”
Medical reason:
“I’m not here to pry into your personal life and I don’t need to know any details from you, but sometimes hygiene problems come from a medical issue you might be facing. If you have a medical reason for this problem, you can bring me a note from your physician and we’ll discuss how we might accommodate you.”
Stress or mental health reason:
“I know that sometimes we all face off-the-job stressors that may make it difficult to want to come to work every day. Again, while I don’t want to know any details, if you’re having some personal, professional, or family stress, you can make use of our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider. It’s 100 per cent confidential; no one will ever know you have called them. You can speak to our EAP provide by phone, so I brought one of their brochures to leave with you just in case you might want to speak to a qualified professional when you’re alone.”
Revenge reason:
“Sometimes we have conflicts with our co-workers over small things that turn into big things. We can all agree that you don’t have to love everyone you work with, or even like everyone you work with, but we do have to co-exist in the office. If you have problems with anyone and can’t work it out with him or her first, please come see me, and I’ll address it.”
Cultural reason:
“We know that folks from difference countries or different cultures have personal preferences about clothing choices, hairstyles, diet choices, and personal cleanliness. We respect diversity here. That said, could you make certain that your personal appearance and clothing are neat, clean, and well-groomed before you start your work day?”
Unaware reason:
“I know you like to walk fast at lunch or like to exercise before you come into the office. Can you make sure that you take a moment to clean yourself thoroughly before you come back to your desk?”
Conclusion:
“Starting right away, I’d like you to follow our dress code and come to work clean and well-groomed. If it’s not a medical issue, I’d like you to begin with these changes starting tomorrow.”
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a trainer and HR consultant in San Diego, CA. His 15 books include Added Value Negotiating; Ticking Bombs; and Tough Training Topics: A Presenter’s Survival Guide. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com
There are two times where coaching is a useful intervention tool for supervisors: to address workplace performance issues or to address workplace behavioral issues.
Coaching is useful to help supervisors talk about four key areas within these performance or behavior realms: violation of policies and procedures (harassment, theft, substance abuse, threats, etc.); work performance (quality, missing deadlines, etc.); attendance (coming in late, leaving early, misusing breaks and lunches); and attitude (sarcasm, rudeness, or disrespect to supervisors, co-workers, or customers).
The question that arises with some supervisors is, “When do I have the right to discuss an off-the-job issue with an employee?’’
The answer is, “When it impacts the business of the department in a negative way.”
While we don’t want to pry into employees’ personal lives, we do have the right, duty, and obligation as supervisors to address issues or behaviors that make it hard for all employees to serve customers, work with others, or do their jobs.
In their book Crucial Conversations, Kerry Patterson and three co-authors discuss how to talk about tough topics with employees. They define “crucial conversations” as those where “opinions vary, stakes are high, and emotions run strong.”
This idea is one that can help both parties to see that the important discussion is not about a personality conflict, retaliation, passive-aggressive behavior, avoidance, or emotions. Rather, the focus centers on what the employee does or doesn’t do, should do differently, and how the issue at hand impacts the business in a negative way.
Once the supervisor gets the employee’s commitment to change (a key goal), he or she should begin to follow the agreed-upon policy or solution immediately.
Any “business impact” discussion should include the consequences for non-compliance, which could mean the possibility of progressive discipline.
By focusing on the employee’s behaviors, by not using labels to describe what are actually behaviors, and being firm, fair, and consistent, the supervisor and the employee can get through a crucial conversation.
The Poor Hygiene Coaching Conversation:
As a rule, most hygiene problems have a foundation in five possible areas:
1. a medical problem (excessive sweating, sleep apnea, or as an adverse reaction to oral medications).
2. a stress or mental health issue (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, a obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding, or a disconnection from reality).
3. a revenge issue (wanting to retaliate against another employee or a supervisor, i.e., “I’ll wear these same clothes every day for a week; that’ll show them!”).
4. a cultural issue (some people from other cultures or other countries are less concerned with hygiene than those in the US).
5. unaware of the impact on others (the employee rides his or her bike to work or exercises at lunch and doesn’t shower afterwards).
The following suggestions can help the concerned (but reluctant) supervisor to address an employee’s hygiene problem. You don’t have to read this word for word to the employee; just pick out the themes that work best for the employee or the hygiene concerns in question.
Supervisor: “If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you in private about a work issue. This is an uncomfortable yet necessary part of my job. As hard as this is to talk about, I have some concerns that your body odor and/or soiled clothing is making it hard for other people to be around you. I’ve seen for myself that it’s affecting your co-workers and our vendors and customers in a way that’s not good for our business. I’m sure it’s embarrassing for you and it’s not my intention to make you feel worse.”
Medical reason:
“I’m not here to pry into your personal life and I don’t need to know any details from you, but sometimes hygiene problems come from a medical issue you might be facing. If you have a medical reason for this problem, you can bring me a note from your physician and we’ll discuss how we might accommodate you.”
Stress or mental health reason:
“I know that sometimes we all face off-the-job stressors that may make it difficult to want to come to work every day. Again, while I don’t want to know any details, if you’re having some personal, professional, or family stress, you can make use of our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider. It’s 100 per cent confidential; no one will ever know you have called them. You can speak to our EAP provide by phone, so I brought one of their brochures to leave with you just in case you might want to speak to a qualified professional when you’re alone.”
Revenge reason:
“Sometimes we have conflicts with our co-workers over small things that turn into big things. We can all agree that you don’t have to love everyone you work with, or even like everyone you work with, but we do have to co-exist in the office. If you have problems with anyone and can’t work it out with him or her first, please come see me, and I’ll address it.”
Cultural reason:
“We know that folks from difference countries or different cultures have personal preferences about clothing choices, hairstyles, diet choices, and personal cleanliness. We respect diversity here. That said, could you make certain that your personal appearance and clothing are neat, clean, and well-groomed before you start your work day?”
Unaware reason:
“I know you like to walk fast at lunch or like to exercise before you come into the office. Can you make sure that you take a moment to clean yourself thoroughly before you come back to your desk?”
Conclusion:
“Starting right away, I’d like you to follow our dress code and come to work clean and well-groomed. If it’s not a medical issue, I’d like you to begin with these changes starting tomorrow.”
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a trainer and HR consultant in San Diego, CA. His 15 books include Added Value Negotiating; Ticking Bombs; and Tough Training Topics: A Presenter’s Survival Guide. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com
Sunday, March 7, 2010
R.O.S.C.O.: Your Writing Project Planner
My father, Dr. Karl Albrecht, created this useful writing tool over 30 years ago. It still works today. Give it a try. (Visit him at www.karlalbrecht.com)
Whether it’s an email to a co-worker, a client letter, or a report to your board, you’re judged by the words you choose and use. Here’s a five-step tool to help improve all of your business writing efforts, regardless of what format you choose or have to use. It’s called R.O.S.C.O., a quick mnemonic for better business writing.
Reader – Who will read what you’ve written?
It’s important to know who you’re writing for, since it might be one person or a dozen. Who is your reader? What do you already know about this person and what does he or she know about you or the issue, problem, solution, or opportunity you’re going to reveal? Will more than one person read your message (around the company or around the world)? What is the person’s position, language skills, or level of education, if you know?
Outcome – What do you want the Reader to do?
When writing, it often helps to begin at the end. What do you want this person to do, after reading your letter, memo, report, or proposal? Call you immediately? Circulate the data around to other parties? Say yes or no to a certain critical question or decision point? If you know what you want the Reader to do, then you’ll certainly want to organize your message to ask for or get that result.
Strategy – Your tone and texture.
These two elements compliment each other like good wine and fine cheese. Your tone can range from friendly to slightly cool, informal to legal-sounding, chatty to straightforward, short and to the point, or longer, with much more emphasis on the details. Your texture has to do with your word choices and your use of metaphors, similes, or appropriate figures of speech, to add drama, humor, or sophistication to your message.
Content – What you actually say.
This is the nuts-and-bolts of your e-mail, letter, proposal, or report, where you get your points across in an organized and thoughtful way. You give careful thought to the opening statement; the lead question, accompanying facts, or most important points. You consider what needs to be said first, last, and in the middle, using data or insights to support your ideas or requests. Finally, you craft the closing lines, ranging from a polite salutation to an immediate action step.
Organization – What it looks like.
This final point asks you to consider what you physically provide to your Reader. Is it a memo, plus an attached budget report? Is it an email with several presentation slides attached? Do you need to provide price sheets, samples, or catalogs? This issue is especially important if this is your first contact with the Reader. You want to make a professional impression, especially since that’s when most people judge the quality of your written communications, your company, and your products or services.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a trainer and consultant in San Diego, CA. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
Whether it’s an email to a co-worker, a client letter, or a report to your board, you’re judged by the words you choose and use. Here’s a five-step tool to help improve all of your business writing efforts, regardless of what format you choose or have to use. It’s called R.O.S.C.O., a quick mnemonic for better business writing.
Reader – Who will read what you’ve written?
It’s important to know who you’re writing for, since it might be one person or a dozen. Who is your reader? What do you already know about this person and what does he or she know about you or the issue, problem, solution, or opportunity you’re going to reveal? Will more than one person read your message (around the company or around the world)? What is the person’s position, language skills, or level of education, if you know?
Outcome – What do you want the Reader to do?
When writing, it often helps to begin at the end. What do you want this person to do, after reading your letter, memo, report, or proposal? Call you immediately? Circulate the data around to other parties? Say yes or no to a certain critical question or decision point? If you know what you want the Reader to do, then you’ll certainly want to organize your message to ask for or get that result.
Strategy – Your tone and texture.
These two elements compliment each other like good wine and fine cheese. Your tone can range from friendly to slightly cool, informal to legal-sounding, chatty to straightforward, short and to the point, or longer, with much more emphasis on the details. Your texture has to do with your word choices and your use of metaphors, similes, or appropriate figures of speech, to add drama, humor, or sophistication to your message.
Content – What you actually say.
This is the nuts-and-bolts of your e-mail, letter, proposal, or report, where you get your points across in an organized and thoughtful way. You give careful thought to the opening statement; the lead question, accompanying facts, or most important points. You consider what needs to be said first, last, and in the middle, using data or insights to support your ideas or requests. Finally, you craft the closing lines, ranging from a polite salutation to an immediate action step.
Organization – What it looks like.
This final point asks you to consider what you physically provide to your Reader. Is it a memo, plus an attached budget report? Is it an email with several presentation slides attached? Do you need to provide price sheets, samples, or catalogs? This issue is especially important if this is your first contact with the Reader. You want to make a professional impression, especially since that’s when most people judge the quality of your written communications, your company, and your products or services.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a trainer and consultant in San Diego, CA. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
The Care & Feeding of Your Expert Witness
Working as an expert witness in a civil case, I enjoy the challenge of the issues at hand and it provides a good break from the main work in my consulting and training practice areas.
So having been around attorneys and opposing counsel, and after talking with many colleagues who have served in the expert witness role, I offer the following food / water/ and exercise guidelines to keep your expert witnesses happy and healthy:
Do speak to us before you depose other witnesses.
We welcome the chance to help you develop a questioning strategy that supports your current plan. We want to help you attack the other side’s covert or barefaced lies right when you hear them. You already know it’s not uncommon for some of their experts to stretch the truth and claim they can fix everything from schizophrenia to dandruff. In one of my cases, the other side’s security expert claimed in his C.V., to have personally conducted over 4,000 site security surveys in 10 years, a run of more than one per day, every single day, for a decade! Had I known of this prior to his deposition, we could have laid a better trap for this outrageous claim.
Ask us what we might ask the pending deposition witness, if we were in your shoes. Even five or six questions from us might lead you to themes that were previously not in your thoughts.
Do give us mock questions and spend enough time on our deposition preparation.
Since I only work on civil cases, and I work a lot in the Golden State, most of my cases settle, either after my deposition and prior to trial, or prior to my deposition and prior to trial. Truth be told, either way I’m always a bit relieved. Depositions and court appearances are a near-daily event for many attorneys; not so for the expert witnesses, who find these procedures stressful. We can all use a bit of coaching from you, prior to any deposition or court session. Put us through our paces for an hour or so. Ask hard questions and role-play the events so we know what to expect. Give us some deep background on the opposing counsel, so we can prepare for their styles. (Since the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior, most attorneys don’t usually change their deposition approach from case to case. What you know about their past can help us avoid some of their well-laid mine fields.)
Do respond to our questions and materials.
We realize you have other cases and this may be just one of many plates you’re spinning. But we need some reassurance that you received all of the reports, correspondence, faxes, updates, case notes, or even just our suggestions, that we have may have sent over. If you haven’t read what we’ve given you, we will both look bad when the other side picks up a page and starts dissecting every comma and semicolon.
Do discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your case and the scope of testimony you want from us.
Since we aren’t usually attorneys ourselves, we have a marked tendency to see the ocean through our own drinking straw. Your specialty area may not be ours. It always helps us to hear the burden of proof, the standard of care, the jury instructions, the most recent case laws, or the appellate decisions on our cases. We want to know what you think will work and what will not, in terms of our testimony. Tell us what you want to get on the record and what areas we should avoid. Discuss the downside, so we can see what the other side wants us to admit.
Do pay us on time.
The relationship between expert and attorney should be based on mutual trust, respect for each other’s abilities, and economic fairness. Plenty of hard feelings can arise when the party with the checkbook changes the tune in mid-dance for the party waiting for the check. Most experts have learned this the hard way, and now use letters of agreement, ask for retainers, and expect payment for services rendered, win or lose. Unpaid experts can emit an air of “saying anything for your side, just to get paid” to opposing counsel.
Further, just as attorneys gossip about lousy experts, experts gossip about unethical, non-paying attorneys. We realize you often get paid at the very end of the case, if at all. We know you have expenses and contingency agreements with your clients. And you already know that we can’t say, “they said the check is in the mail,” when we’re at the checkout stand at the grocery store.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get us important case documentation.
I’ve read case materials on the plane ride out to the deposition, overnighted to me in much haste and expense, even though they were created months ago. Sometimes these things are unavoidable, but when they are just a result of bad planning, it creates stress for us. Give us the time to read, digest, and comment on new information or events.
Don’t expect us to lie or exaggerate for your case or your client.
No attorney would ever say to an expert, “Here’s a list of lies I want you to tell.” However, sometimes the line between the real truth (which may hurt your case) and asking us to make an intentional “omission” when it comes to the facts, can dent our ethical compasses. Sometimes a bad set of facts is what it is, so asking us to put a public spin on things is morally and ethically difficult.
Don’t leave us hanging during the deposition.
We know you’re not allowed to coach us through a difficult part of the process, but you can help us by protecting us. The tried-and-true “let’s take a break” approach gives us a chance to re-gather our wits, locate that ever-missing document we’ve been struggling to find since Minute One, and hear from you what is the best answer to the last presenting question. Three things help us in deposition the most: having you pay close attention to what opposing counsel asks (so you can object or help us stay within our scope); having you remain civil with opposing counsel (back-and-forth arguments where one attorney threatens to get a restraining order against the other or to drag everyone in front of the judge can rattle our nerves. We know it’s rare these bluffs get called, but the exchanges disrupt our flow of thoughts); and reminding us to “just answer the question asked,” and not prattle on and on.
Don’t take us too far out of our comfort zones.
It is the wise expert witness who does not profess knowledge, skills, or abilities in areas where he or she is not strong. Review our C.V.’s and helps us both put an intellectual fence around our strong suits. When opposing counsel tries to take us off into the high grass, where we are not suited and could hurt your efforts, put the brakes on them.
Don’t leave us hanging after the case settles. Debrief!
This last one is a major pet peeve of mine. I have been on cases where I heard nothing for months after a deposition – no returned calls, no progress reports, no updates. And then BOOM! I get a phone message from a paralegal, saying, “Uh, the Rudolph v. Claus case just settled, so please send us your final bill. Thanks.” We have a need for closure, so get on the phone to tell us what happened. We realize many of the settlement details are confidential, but give us a good sense of how or if we contributed to your success.
The relationship between attorneys and expert witness is critical for both sides. By staying with appropriate boundaries and professional practices, we can both get the benefits we need.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is internationally known for his work on high-risk HR issues and workplace violence prevention. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
So having been around attorneys and opposing counsel, and after talking with many colleagues who have served in the expert witness role, I offer the following food / water/ and exercise guidelines to keep your expert witnesses happy and healthy:
Do speak to us before you depose other witnesses.
We welcome the chance to help you develop a questioning strategy that supports your current plan. We want to help you attack the other side’s covert or barefaced lies right when you hear them. You already know it’s not uncommon for some of their experts to stretch the truth and claim they can fix everything from schizophrenia to dandruff. In one of my cases, the other side’s security expert claimed in his C.V., to have personally conducted over 4,000 site security surveys in 10 years, a run of more than one per day, every single day, for a decade! Had I known of this prior to his deposition, we could have laid a better trap for this outrageous claim.
Ask us what we might ask the pending deposition witness, if we were in your shoes. Even five or six questions from us might lead you to themes that were previously not in your thoughts.
Do give us mock questions and spend enough time on our deposition preparation.
Since I only work on civil cases, and I work a lot in the Golden State, most of my cases settle, either after my deposition and prior to trial, or prior to my deposition and prior to trial. Truth be told, either way I’m always a bit relieved. Depositions and court appearances are a near-daily event for many attorneys; not so for the expert witnesses, who find these procedures stressful. We can all use a bit of coaching from you, prior to any deposition or court session. Put us through our paces for an hour or so. Ask hard questions and role-play the events so we know what to expect. Give us some deep background on the opposing counsel, so we can prepare for their styles. (Since the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior, most attorneys don’t usually change their deposition approach from case to case. What you know about their past can help us avoid some of their well-laid mine fields.)
Do respond to our questions and materials.
We realize you have other cases and this may be just one of many plates you’re spinning. But we need some reassurance that you received all of the reports, correspondence, faxes, updates, case notes, or even just our suggestions, that we have may have sent over. If you haven’t read what we’ve given you, we will both look bad when the other side picks up a page and starts dissecting every comma and semicolon.
Do discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your case and the scope of testimony you want from us.
Since we aren’t usually attorneys ourselves, we have a marked tendency to see the ocean through our own drinking straw. Your specialty area may not be ours. It always helps us to hear the burden of proof, the standard of care, the jury instructions, the most recent case laws, or the appellate decisions on our cases. We want to know what you think will work and what will not, in terms of our testimony. Tell us what you want to get on the record and what areas we should avoid. Discuss the downside, so we can see what the other side wants us to admit.
Do pay us on time.
The relationship between expert and attorney should be based on mutual trust, respect for each other’s abilities, and economic fairness. Plenty of hard feelings can arise when the party with the checkbook changes the tune in mid-dance for the party waiting for the check. Most experts have learned this the hard way, and now use letters of agreement, ask for retainers, and expect payment for services rendered, win or lose. Unpaid experts can emit an air of “saying anything for your side, just to get paid” to opposing counsel.
Further, just as attorneys gossip about lousy experts, experts gossip about unethical, non-paying attorneys. We realize you often get paid at the very end of the case, if at all. We know you have expenses and contingency agreements with your clients. And you already know that we can’t say, “they said the check is in the mail,” when we’re at the checkout stand at the grocery store.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get us important case documentation.
I’ve read case materials on the plane ride out to the deposition, overnighted to me in much haste and expense, even though they were created months ago. Sometimes these things are unavoidable, but when they are just a result of bad planning, it creates stress for us. Give us the time to read, digest, and comment on new information or events.
Don’t expect us to lie or exaggerate for your case or your client.
No attorney would ever say to an expert, “Here’s a list of lies I want you to tell.” However, sometimes the line between the real truth (which may hurt your case) and asking us to make an intentional “omission” when it comes to the facts, can dent our ethical compasses. Sometimes a bad set of facts is what it is, so asking us to put a public spin on things is morally and ethically difficult.
Don’t leave us hanging during the deposition.
We know you’re not allowed to coach us through a difficult part of the process, but you can help us by protecting us. The tried-and-true “let’s take a break” approach gives us a chance to re-gather our wits, locate that ever-missing document we’ve been struggling to find since Minute One, and hear from you what is the best answer to the last presenting question. Three things help us in deposition the most: having you pay close attention to what opposing counsel asks (so you can object or help us stay within our scope); having you remain civil with opposing counsel (back-and-forth arguments where one attorney threatens to get a restraining order against the other or to drag everyone in front of the judge can rattle our nerves. We know it’s rare these bluffs get called, but the exchanges disrupt our flow of thoughts); and reminding us to “just answer the question asked,” and not prattle on and on.
Don’t take us too far out of our comfort zones.
It is the wise expert witness who does not profess knowledge, skills, or abilities in areas where he or she is not strong. Review our C.V.’s and helps us both put an intellectual fence around our strong suits. When opposing counsel tries to take us off into the high grass, where we are not suited and could hurt your efforts, put the brakes on them.
Don’t leave us hanging after the case settles. Debrief!
This last one is a major pet peeve of mine. I have been on cases where I heard nothing for months after a deposition – no returned calls, no progress reports, no updates. And then BOOM! I get a phone message from a paralegal, saying, “Uh, the Rudolph v. Claus case just settled, so please send us your final bill. Thanks.” We have a need for closure, so get on the phone to tell us what happened. We realize many of the settlement details are confidential, but give us a good sense of how or if we contributed to your success.
The relationship between attorneys and expert witness is critical for both sides. By staying with appropriate boundaries and professional practices, we can both get the benefits we need.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is internationally known for his work on high-risk HR issues and workplace violence prevention. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
The R.E.D.S. Workplace Stress Solution
The R.E.D.S. Workplace Stress Solution
Time and tempers are getting shorter in the office. What can we do to help our employees and ourselves to self-manage stress?
First, it’s easy to keep focusing on the future instead of spending some valuable time, as a work group or team, relishing our successes in the past. Good bosses can start by using more praise, thanking their people personally, proactively, and sincerely, for the quality of their work.
One of the keys to stress management is having proper perspective. Many people are worker longer and harder than ever before, just to keep pace with the economy, their financial needs, and their desire to spend time at home. We can all feel caught up on a treadmill, with no end in sight. This can lead to conflicts between employees with differing opinions as to what and how things get done. It can help for each employee to take a moment to catch his or her breath, pause for a second, and then provide an answer to a colleague that’s based on clear thinking over harsh emotions.
Second, it’s important to keep the concept of life-work balance in mind. It may not be possible to get it all done in one day. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.” This means that as an employee, you should be satisfied with giving your best efforts, knowing that there are a lot of distractions in the office as you try to meet your goals. As a supervisor, you should be flexible and realistic as to how much you can get done yourself, and how much your employees can accomplish.
As for personal stress management, the “R.E.D.S.” acronym can help: Relaxation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep.
Relaxation means taking the time, each day, to find a quiet place to close your eyes for a few moments and fully relax your body, head to toe. Even 15 minutes can make a huge difference in your energy level.
Exercise means that you try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Many busy people are buying pedometers and trying to log the suggested 10,000 steps in their daily work, home, and fitness routines. Exercise burns stress as much as it does calories.
Diet means that you steer clear of too many feel-good foods and focus on eating small amounts of healthy portions, in moderation. Too much alcohol, sugar, and fats add to stress levels and waistlines.
Sleep needs are a big key to managing stress. We are a sleep-deprived culture and most people rarely get the eight hours they need to reset their minds and bodies and prepare for the next day. Developing pre-sleep rituals like showering, listening to soft music, reading, or writing a to-do list for tomorrow by the bedside tonight, can help prepare your mind for slumber.
It’s always a good time to focus on two keys: gratitude and optimism. We all have things to be grateful for: good health, connections with family or friends, continued employment, some money in the bank, and hope for the future.
Finally, perhaps a little Zen thinking can help as well. Everything in life is a series of moments. If we take the time to enjoy the little moments at the office: a pleasant environment, familiar and friendly colleagues, and new business on the horizon, it’s all good.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based trainer and high-risk HR consultant. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
Time and tempers are getting shorter in the office. What can we do to help our employees and ourselves to self-manage stress?
First, it’s easy to keep focusing on the future instead of spending some valuable time, as a work group or team, relishing our successes in the past. Good bosses can start by using more praise, thanking their people personally, proactively, and sincerely, for the quality of their work.
One of the keys to stress management is having proper perspective. Many people are worker longer and harder than ever before, just to keep pace with the economy, their financial needs, and their desire to spend time at home. We can all feel caught up on a treadmill, with no end in sight. This can lead to conflicts between employees with differing opinions as to what and how things get done. It can help for each employee to take a moment to catch his or her breath, pause for a second, and then provide an answer to a colleague that’s based on clear thinking over harsh emotions.
Second, it’s important to keep the concept of life-work balance in mind. It may not be possible to get it all done in one day. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.” This means that as an employee, you should be satisfied with giving your best efforts, knowing that there are a lot of distractions in the office as you try to meet your goals. As a supervisor, you should be flexible and realistic as to how much you can get done yourself, and how much your employees can accomplish.
As for personal stress management, the “R.E.D.S.” acronym can help: Relaxation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep.
Relaxation means taking the time, each day, to find a quiet place to close your eyes for a few moments and fully relax your body, head to toe. Even 15 minutes can make a huge difference in your energy level.
Exercise means that you try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Many busy people are buying pedometers and trying to log the suggested 10,000 steps in their daily work, home, and fitness routines. Exercise burns stress as much as it does calories.
Diet means that you steer clear of too many feel-good foods and focus on eating small amounts of healthy portions, in moderation. Too much alcohol, sugar, and fats add to stress levels and waistlines.
Sleep needs are a big key to managing stress. We are a sleep-deprived culture and most people rarely get the eight hours they need to reset their minds and bodies and prepare for the next day. Developing pre-sleep rituals like showering, listening to soft music, reading, or writing a to-do list for tomorrow by the bedside tonight, can help prepare your mind for slumber.
It’s always a good time to focus on two keys: gratitude and optimism. We all have things to be grateful for: good health, connections with family or friends, continued employment, some money in the bank, and hope for the future.
Finally, perhaps a little Zen thinking can help as well. Everything in life is a series of moments. If we take the time to enjoy the little moments at the office: a pleasant environment, familiar and friendly colleagues, and new business on the horizon, it’s all good.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based trainer and high-risk HR consultant. He can be reached at drsteve@drstevealbrecht.com.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Keep Your Company Business to Yourself
Keep Your Company Business to Yourself: Security Information and the Media
We have this idea that computer hackers are ingeniously bright people. We hear stories, true or otherwise, as to how they seem to finagle valuable information from us, using the most sophisticated social engineering techniques. In reality, they often use such tricky questions as, “I’m calling from the IT Department. We’re doing some system checks on your T-3 line. I’ll need to reprogram your current password with a new one. You’re using the one that’s all letters, right?”
And so we dutifully comply with what seems to be a reasonable and logical request from some resident authority figure who surely has our best interests in mind. Often within minutes, we will reveal confidential company or personal information, over the phone, or through an email reply to a complete stranger who talks or writes a good line.
Reading all this and reflecting on your own sense of eternal security vigilance, you’ll swear that you’d never give out a byte of confidential or important data, over the phone, across cyberspace, or even face-to-face. Your motto is: “Hang me up by my thumbs for a week and I still wouldn’t even tell you my first name.”
And all this may be true when you believe the information requester may be a wolf in sheep’s leggings, but how about when the asker-to-be is from your local or national news media? Are you still tight-lipped and careful, or do you get caught up in the glow of the First Amendment’s pad and pen, the video camera, or the microphone? It’s hard for even savvy security professionals not to spill some beans when faced with the often flattering request for information and a chance to demonstrate subject matter expertise.
But just as loose lips sink ships, the desire to provide information to the media must be measured by the impact, or more accurately, the harms a few words or figures can betray.
Several years ago, the Business section of the Orange County (Calif.) Register, featured a two-page photo spread on the history of the Southland Corporation’s reason for being: the 7-11 store. Along with a history of the Big Gulp business, the piece featured an interview with Anaheim 7-11 franchisee Herb Domeño, owner of nine stores, including the site at Katella and Harbor. For those not familiar with southern California real estate, this prime property is directly adjacent to an Enchanted Kingdom knows as Disneyland.
Back then, Mr. Domeño’s stone’s throw-to-Disneyland convenience store boasted the highest sales volume in the country – an average of $3 million per year, clearly above the national sales-per-store average of about $1.3 million per year.
Taking out our trusty calculators, we could have determined that, give or take some up or down days in the boom-boom 1990’s, Mr. Domeño’s enterprise took in about $8,000 per day.
And how did we discern this figure? It’s easy to uncover, especially when the $3 million sales amount is featured boldly in the photo caption of Mr. Domeño in his cash-cow store. (By the way, the new national sales record for one 7-11 convenience store belongs to the folks running the show in Southampton, NY.
So what has the Orange County Register just told every enterprising convenience store robber who can read? This place is full of cash and even if they aren’t cleaning up like they did before Disneyland closed a nearby parking lot to make room for its California Adventure addition, Mr. Stickup Artist has to believe it’s worth a shot.
Even if the daily revenue figure is adjusted for slow days and customers who pay with debit or credit cards, it’s still a substantial amount of cash that is either on the premises or being moved, via some safe means we hope, to the bank.
In times of organizational crisis, it’s wise to have a designated member of the executive team speak to the print or TV media. This person will have the training, experience, and savvy to say the right things, at the right times. News gatherers, on the other hand, won’t always seek out your Director of Corporate Communications (or similarly-titled representative). If they want the juicy details, any gossip, or the “inside story,” they might go to any executive or manager they can find, or worse, to an employee, who gives an opinion as if it was a fact.
In a perfect world, the security professional would also be part of the discussion and review of any press release, placed article, or editorial coming from the organization that has any security-related content. “Facts and figures” statements tossed out like: “Our security system is so sophisticated it only takes one guard per eight-hour shift to operate it,” or “Our jewelry store revenues have never been higher” might be great PR, but they can turn your business into a new target, by people or groups who never considered it as one before.
If you’re tasked with speaking to a media member about any aspect of your business operations or performance, choose your words carefully. Use the technique every politician is trained in from birth: bridging. Bridging simply requires you to “bridge over” to the question you want to answer versus the question you’re asked.
This approach works best when you’re asked the question you don’t really want to answer, i.e. Reporter: “Isn’t it true that your firm’s movement to stricter access control has created a `prison camp environment’ for your employees and customers?” Security Professional: “As you know, our approach has always been to put the safety and security needs of our people and our customers first. As such, we believe in creating the best working environment possible…”
Get the idea? You don’t answer a direct, confrontive question with a direct, assertive answer on point. You vary the response to make sure you cover your points, not theirs.
When in doubt, choose to be bland, especially with any information that hints of having a financial, proprietary, or trade-secret connection. “We’ve got a good handle on our inventory” sounds so much better than, “We’ve got a ton of expensive stuff laying around our warehouse.”
The old adage all publicity is good publicity has its exceptions. Better for people to read about your firm and have to make assumptions about your security, than to know too much detail.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based trainer and consultant. He can be reached at www.drstevealbrecht.com.
We have this idea that computer hackers are ingeniously bright people. We hear stories, true or otherwise, as to how they seem to finagle valuable information from us, using the most sophisticated social engineering techniques. In reality, they often use such tricky questions as, “I’m calling from the IT Department. We’re doing some system checks on your T-3 line. I’ll need to reprogram your current password with a new one. You’re using the one that’s all letters, right?”
And so we dutifully comply with what seems to be a reasonable and logical request from some resident authority figure who surely has our best interests in mind. Often within minutes, we will reveal confidential company or personal information, over the phone, or through an email reply to a complete stranger who talks or writes a good line.
Reading all this and reflecting on your own sense of eternal security vigilance, you’ll swear that you’d never give out a byte of confidential or important data, over the phone, across cyberspace, or even face-to-face. Your motto is: “Hang me up by my thumbs for a week and I still wouldn’t even tell you my first name.”
And all this may be true when you believe the information requester may be a wolf in sheep’s leggings, but how about when the asker-to-be is from your local or national news media? Are you still tight-lipped and careful, or do you get caught up in the glow of the First Amendment’s pad and pen, the video camera, or the microphone? It’s hard for even savvy security professionals not to spill some beans when faced with the often flattering request for information and a chance to demonstrate subject matter expertise.
But just as loose lips sink ships, the desire to provide information to the media must be measured by the impact, or more accurately, the harms a few words or figures can betray.
Several years ago, the Business section of the Orange County (Calif.) Register, featured a two-page photo spread on the history of the Southland Corporation’s reason for being: the 7-11 store. Along with a history of the Big Gulp business, the piece featured an interview with Anaheim 7-11 franchisee Herb Domeño, owner of nine stores, including the site at Katella and Harbor. For those not familiar with southern California real estate, this prime property is directly adjacent to an Enchanted Kingdom knows as Disneyland.
Back then, Mr. Domeño’s stone’s throw-to-Disneyland convenience store boasted the highest sales volume in the country – an average of $3 million per year, clearly above the national sales-per-store average of about $1.3 million per year.
Taking out our trusty calculators, we could have determined that, give or take some up or down days in the boom-boom 1990’s, Mr. Domeño’s enterprise took in about $8,000 per day.
And how did we discern this figure? It’s easy to uncover, especially when the $3 million sales amount is featured boldly in the photo caption of Mr. Domeño in his cash-cow store. (By the way, the new national sales record for one 7-11 convenience store belongs to the folks running the show in Southampton, NY.
So what has the Orange County Register just told every enterprising convenience store robber who can read? This place is full of cash and even if they aren’t cleaning up like they did before Disneyland closed a nearby parking lot to make room for its California Adventure addition, Mr. Stickup Artist has to believe it’s worth a shot.
Even if the daily revenue figure is adjusted for slow days and customers who pay with debit or credit cards, it’s still a substantial amount of cash that is either on the premises or being moved, via some safe means we hope, to the bank.
In times of organizational crisis, it’s wise to have a designated member of the executive team speak to the print or TV media. This person will have the training, experience, and savvy to say the right things, at the right times. News gatherers, on the other hand, won’t always seek out your Director of Corporate Communications (or similarly-titled representative). If they want the juicy details, any gossip, or the “inside story,” they might go to any executive or manager they can find, or worse, to an employee, who gives an opinion as if it was a fact.
In a perfect world, the security professional would also be part of the discussion and review of any press release, placed article, or editorial coming from the organization that has any security-related content. “Facts and figures” statements tossed out like: “Our security system is so sophisticated it only takes one guard per eight-hour shift to operate it,” or “Our jewelry store revenues have never been higher” might be great PR, but they can turn your business into a new target, by people or groups who never considered it as one before.
If you’re tasked with speaking to a media member about any aspect of your business operations or performance, choose your words carefully. Use the technique every politician is trained in from birth: bridging. Bridging simply requires you to “bridge over” to the question you want to answer versus the question you’re asked.
This approach works best when you’re asked the question you don’t really want to answer, i.e. Reporter: “Isn’t it true that your firm’s movement to stricter access control has created a `prison camp environment’ for your employees and customers?” Security Professional: “As you know, our approach has always been to put the safety and security needs of our people and our customers first. As such, we believe in creating the best working environment possible…”
Get the idea? You don’t answer a direct, confrontive question with a direct, assertive answer on point. You vary the response to make sure you cover your points, not theirs.
When in doubt, choose to be bland, especially with any information that hints of having a financial, proprietary, or trade-secret connection. “We’ve got a good handle on our inventory” sounds so much better than, “We’ve got a ton of expensive stuff laying around our warehouse.”
The old adage all publicity is good publicity has its exceptions. Better for people to read about your firm and have to make assumptions about your security, than to know too much detail.
Dr. Steve Albrecht, PHR, CPP, is a San Diego-based trainer and consultant. He can be reached at www.drstevealbrecht.com.
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