In my last newsletter I touched on the idea that the phrase “is said to be” had mystical powers that could make or break the security industry.
In other words you can talk it up or talk it down.
The economic turmoil of the last fortnight has convinced me that this is not some “Think yourself to success” psycho babble. It really works, as we have all seen to our cost.
In a few short weeks we’ve witnessed the world’s media help talk us into a recession (although technically we’re not quite there yet).
It’s been too quick even for the media to grasp the consequences of its 24-hour non-stop doom mongering which has contributed mightily to this global “crisis of confidence”.
And God help you if you find omnipresent business correspondent Robert Peston’s voice as irritating as Nick Robinson’s glasses. You can’t get away from him and his ilk giving blow by blow reports on the economy’s death throes.
You can’t entirely blame the messenger though, even if it is the BBC. No one wants a manipulated “good news” agenda.
But, as far as security is concerned, I think we should all try to use the converse “talk up” principle at every opportunity and stress the uniqueness of this industry to be able to thrive in adversity and benefit – in a fair way – in times of crisis.
Here is another example of the need for more security spending in certain sectors and it’s a given in the world of network security. And if you attended the hugely successful Security Excellence Awards last week you’d have been convinced that this industry is anything but downbeat.
Armageddon carried away?
On BBC Breakfast last week a guest dared suggest that that we had unwittingly panicked ourselves into this global meltdown – or ‘Armageddon‘ as the BBC likes to describe it.
The presenters seemed to nod wisely in agreement, but the very next day they sat in front of a dirty great “CRISIS” backdrop featuring a massive arrow pointing straight downwards – ie that’s where we’re all heading.
So is this a case of covering a panic or helping create one?
Could we talk ourselves into recession-proofing the security industry? I read that plumbing is the most recession proof job but security installation can’t be far behind – and it’s a hell of a lot more interesting.
Umbrellas sell best in the rainy season (that’s all summer in England). While pundits predict a slowing down in security growth, the message needs to be relayed that the security industry can naturally thrive in tough times.
Along those lines, I rather liked the positive tone of an email from a business guru who says that this is the best time to start a new business.
What? Is he mad? No. There are sound reasons for it. There’s less competition from other start-ups, industry top dogs are weighed down in admin and stodgy management, commercial rents should be lower and, theoretically, there should be plenty of skilled people around in the jobs market. Check this for more reasons to be cheerful.
Pruning the hedge fund
The tone lightened a little yesterday when our taxes bailed out the banking industry – exposed as a murky world populated by short sighted opportunists taking excessive risks to feather their nests regardless of consequences, supported by boards of directors who should known better and governments afraid to regulate in case they scared off “wealth-makers”.
What a nest of vipers – and they seemed so pleasant at my local branch.
I hope the media glare now falls on the supermarkets, petrol and power companies who are using this turmoil to blatantly con their way to big profits on the back of peoples’ expectations that they will have to pay more “due to the crisis”.
So easy for them to use this as a smoke screen to raise prices way out of proportion to their increased costs.
Just blame “Armageddon” – as seen on TV.
Docu-dom
One way of helping “talk up” the security industry might be to contact this film maker who is planning a documentary on domestic security.
This is not one of those cheap video/action type programmes which, in my opinion, can bring the industry into grubby disrepute.
This company promises to approach domestic security in an entirely different and positive way.
They’re not after video, but if you’ve done an interesting domestic job, or supply a product that might fit the bill, it may help talk up this area. In any case, the domestic security sector has long been in need of a boost.
Catalyst to crime
Theft of metal continues at a pace. Roofs, drain covers, cabling – it’s all fair game to the nasty little swine who give no thought to the potential consequences of this “victimless” crime.
We frequently cover car showroom and forecourt security in Security Installer so I was interested to hear that there has been a massive 500 per cent rise in the theft of catalytic converters.
Predictably the thieves don’t give a fig for how much damage this costs in relation to the value of the stolen goods.
While this is due to the insatiable demand for metal rather than the financial crisis, it does present an opportunity for installers to offer all kinds of alarm and surveillance services to willing customers.
Babbling under
I’m not saying anyone has used all this financial babble to bury controversial news, but there have been some juicy security related stories that would have had more coverage in the national media in ordinary times.
As a road user, you might not personally like this camera scheme, but something like this is probably inevitable.
But did you know that the UK is also planning a new GB pound 12 billion spying system to monitor all email, web browsing and the phone calls of the entire population?
You wouldn’t be in the industry if you didn’t support surveillance and have a heightened appreciation of the need for national security.
But it’s a dead cert that this plan will be used as further proof that we are heading for an Orwellian “surveillance society”.
The security industry needs to head off those accusations largely by distancing itself from this potentially highly unpopular database proposal.
With its appalling record on database security – and what about this week’s real show stopper – most people wouldn’t trust any public body to secure their garden shed, much less this incredibly sensitive information.
I don’t remember any big debate on this GB pound 12 billion scheme. So why has GB pound 1 billion already been spent on it?
Shear madness
Depending on your views, you may think the headline “ID cards for sheep” refers to the UK’s national identity scheme.
But this bizarre story really does concern the woolly livestock.
Unless you dabble in Scottish sheep farming on the side, you’re probably unaware of the plan to electronically tag these placid creatures. But now an MEP has stepped into the mess.
“Imagine trying to scan a wet, filthy ewe miles from anywhere in a gale and then find the machine isn’t working” he says. “There must be a more sensible option?”
Why not just change the baa code?