Executive Protection

The “Boss-napping” trend in France has spurred a new industry which provides advice to executives on how to avoid and prevent becoming a victim of “Boss-napping.” All of this stems from a peculiar French tradition in which laborers resort to kidnapping their “Boss” whenever labor negotiations fail and holding the boss until an agreement can be reached.

It’s a tradition that’s been around for 30 years and is considered an accepted practice in French society. However as more businesses fail and more French workers lose their jobs, boss-napping has increased as of late, putting more executives at risk. Executives who find themselves held hostage by employees are rarely harmed however it’s a crime nonetheless.

Most of the tips coming from consultants who specializing in countering the boss-napping threat are basic personal safety and workplace violence prevention tips combined and common sense such as monitor employee sentiment before labor negotiations, hold negotiations somewhere other than work and carry a pre-programmed cell phone with numbers for family, police and other contacts in the event the executive is threatened or held hostage.

“Boss-napping” might be an accepted practice but regardless what you call it, kidnapping is a crime even in France and acquiescing to such practices only opens the door to a great potential for violence.

Here are the top 10 traits of a successful Executive Protection Specialist. You might or might not have these traits already. If you think you have them, hone them. If you want them, work for them. These traits are not presented in any particular order. They’re all equally important.

Integrity
Candor
Confidence
Discretion
Bearing
Attention to Detail
Responsiveness
Flexibility
Patience
Commitment

These are the type of standards held by premier companies such as RSB International.

I walked in to the United Nations Building today and was confronted with poster after poster of what looks like a dangerous world. From conventional wars to Islamic Terrorism to hostage situations, to crime, the dangers are all around us. We live in a world on the precipice. At any moment any one of us could be killed by a bullet, a bomb, a knife or transportation. We can be taken hostage randomly by terrorist, of any number of natures, or pin pointed by criminals. We cannot be passive in the face of such danger especially when one has a family. We need to take action, we need to protect ourselves.

So what can be done in order to protect ourselves and our families? Move to the moon! That`s the truth, there is no absolutely sure way to protect ourselves. We can take precautions, we can be prepared but one of the fundamental aspects of this reality is that we are fragile and we will die eventually. The questions is how when and why. Most of us want to make it to old age. To make it we need to take care of our physical health as well as to try and ensure that people with bad intentions are defended against. Thus defense has many different natures, cost and levels of protection just as medical health has different natures cost and levels of protection. The major difference between medical health and physical protection is that medical health is seen as a basic human right and physical protection is seen as a luxury reserved for those that can afford it. Most people have some form of physical protection. Personal aggression, carrying a knife or gun or being trained in some marshal art are all forma of physical protection (on the lower end of the cost scale). For those that can afford it executive protection is the best way to ensure personnel physical safety. Companies like RSB International provide personalized physical protection all around the globe. Former Special Forces Israeli soldiers started RSB International because they wanted to put there specialist training in to use in the private sector. RSB International provides intelligence reports to clients, and use intelligence reports to best prepare for the situation that the client finds themselves in. RSB International personnel`s Israeli anti-terror training among other specialist Israeli training provide the company with the best personnel who have been trained by arguably the best trained special forces units in the world.

Physical protection obviously comes at a cost. The cost depends on the level of protection that you may need. If one is an American citizen going to northern Pakistan then there are very high risks and more security would be needed resulting in more costs. On the other hand protection in South Africa during the soccer world cup 2010 would entail less cost due to lower risks and the different nature of those that would attack, in this case petty criminals, hijackers or violent criminals.

In conclusion, regardless of socio-economic level or social status, our protection needs must be treated with the same level of importance and priority as our health; once there is a crisis it is unfortunately often too late if the original problem was left untreated.