While it may seem like a strange question – it certainly did when I was asked that very question yesterday by someone who is not in the security profession, nor the psychology profession (I’m just sayin’) – as it turns out, it’s a question that not only kept me awake last night as I contemplated the answer, its also one which goes to the core of who we are and why we do what we do.
As an experienced security practitioner, what keeps me awake at night are things like the recent wrong turn by the Pope’s motorcade and the ensuing mob scene (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/52547956/#52547956), the attack on a government official in Thailand (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhPShrjgPbE), and the assassination of Admiral Salazar in Mexico (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23488427). These incidents, and hundreds more like them, are indelibly etched in my mind as a reminder that there are no small mistakes or minor missteps when it come to protection operations. They also serve to remind me that to err is human and that I am more human than most. There are nights when I lay awake and recount, often in vivid detail, just about every mistake or misstep I’ve made in the field; and count myself among the fortunate who, but for the grace of god and in some instances a less than industrious adversary, survived those mistakes and missteps to learn some valuable lessons. This is who I am and what keeps me awake at night
As a parent, what keeps me awake at night is the thought of that phone call or knock on the door…those who have kids know exactly what I am talking about; those who don’t yet have kids eventually will. I know all too well how quickly things can go tragically wrong when someone, anyone, but especially a kid, is behind the wheel, or riding in, or for that matter anywhere in the vicinity of cars. And I am not yet so old that I can’t remember being of the age when cars and driving meant freedom, and that such freedom arrives at an age where the perception of risks and consequences is too heavily tilted toward the first person perspective of invincibility. So, yeah, I sometimes lie awake worrying about my kids, your kids, every kid out on the road, surrounded by every other driver out there on the road whether or not they should be.…even when the kids are safely “tucked in their beds”. This is who I am and what keeps me awake at night.
As a professional driving instructor who has made the deliberate decision to focus on teaching skills that are intended to keep people alive in the worst case scenarios, be it a potential accident or a deliberate attack, what keeps me awake at night is knowing that car crashes are the leading cause of death among young folks between the age of 17 and 23, more so than drugs, violence and AIDS combined. What keeps me awake at night is the oft quoted IRA communique after a failed attempt to kill Prime Minister Thatcher, which simple stated “ … we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always.” This is who I am and what keeps me awake at night.
What keeps me awake at night is NOT the recognition that advanced driver training is what we do; it’s the why we do it that keeps me awake. Keeping people alive is why we do it. And what keeps me awake at night is the realization that there is far more work to be done than there are hours in the day, days in the weeks, weeks in the month, and months in the year within which to accomplish our work. I am Joe Autera, President & CEO of VDI, security practitioner, parent and professional driving instructor, and I don’t get a whole lot of sleep at night.
Who are you and what keeps you awake at night?
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