THE PROTECTORS CREDO

- HOW TO EAT THE BEAR AND NOT ALLOW THE BEAR TO EAT YOU (Submitted by Lieutenant Thomas A. Taylor - Retired)

You end your career as a protector the same way you begin, standing in Supply with all your gear in a cardboard box. As I look back over thirty-four years as a protector (30 with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and 4 with Gavin de Becker and Associates), certain truths are abundantly clear. I have learned the most in my career from observing others, and then looking in the mirror of self-evaluation to see how I measured up. Some days I liked my reflection and some days I didnt. The following rules are not intended to be preachy or present a pie-in-the-sky, feel-good approach to life. They are intended as a how to reach excellence in a competitive world set of guidelines that I have found to hold true through the test of time. They are a mirror of self-evaluation, reflecting what Baltasar Gracian, a 16th century Spanish priest, described as the person you are or the one you ought to be ... a politics for governing oneself. Many of these lessons were learned the hard way. As the popular saying goes, Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you. There are those who choose to get ahead by other means, some successfully, most not. However, the reputations these individuals leave behind are seldom very inspirational. You dont hear people proudly proclaim, I want to brown-nose my way up to the top, or I reached my position by cutting the throats of anyone who got in my way. Wisdom is defined as an understanding of what is true, right, or lasting. Everyone regrets past indiscretions and wish they could do something over in their lives. The way to minimize or avoid such regrets is to never commit the wrong to begin with, and this is best accomplished by heeding the wisdom of those who have already learned the lesson. In a way, its like getting the answers to lifes test before the exam is given! If youve never had the pleasure of hiring people and the anguish of firing people, then pay close attention. If you hope to ever reach that level, following these rules should get you there. If your goal is to complete a long and distinguished career, leaving behind a legacy as a heroic model, then put a copy of this article in your planner, highlight your favorite parts, and read it at least once each week before you go to work. RULE #1: For those readers who are still in the early (unspoiled?) years of their career, the rule that should be your first order of business: Choose a heroic model. Its been written that Alexander the Great wept at the tomb of Achilles, not because his hero was dead, but because he had not yet reached Achilles level of greatness. In his brilliant book The Art of Worldly Wisdom, Gracian refers to these role models as living texts of renown and advises, Let each person choose the first in his field, not so much to follow him as to surpass them. (Just to make sure were on the same page, Dirty Harry was not a heroic model).

RULE #2: One of my former bosses used to tell all new employees on their first day in the division, If you lie, you leave. I will not tolerate people who dont tell me the truth. Industrialist Andrew Carnegie noted that all honors wounds are self- inflicted. For protectors, there are few characteristics that are more important than integrity. I have seen more careers fizzle and die from lies agents told than from acts they committed. On the many promotional interview boards on which Ive served, candidates almost always listed the worst leadership quality as someone who would stab you in the back or lie to you. The Greek poet Pindar had it right and weighs in with the next rule: Forge thy tongue on an anvil of truth and what flies up, though it be but a spark, shall have weight. Being an effective protector means cloaking the identity, schedule, and personal traits of the principal from the curious or hostile eyes of the outsider. The only permissible time to stray from the truth is when it supports the integrity of the mission. On a recent protective mission to Europe, a curious street person asked a protective agent, Are you a bodyguard? No, the agent lied. The street person pointed to the agents earpiece. Bluetooth, the agent lied again. The street person nodded, satisfied with answer. By lying to the outsider, the agent maintained the integrity of his mission. RULE #3: Winston Churchill delivered the shortest and most brilliant graduation speech in history at Harrow School in 1941. He approached the microphone, looked out at the students, and forcefully stated, Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never - in nothing great and small - large and petty - Never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. With that, he turned and sat down. Persistence is a common trait shared by all successful people. Everyone suffers setbacks in their careers. The most successful people believe that when one door slams shut in your face, listen carefully, and you will hear another one open. An ancient Japanese proverb expressed it in these simple terms: Fall seven times, stand up eight. RULE #4: The story is told that Winston Lord worked on a report for his boss, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, for four days. After leaving it with Kissinger, Lord got the report back with a note attached, asking, Is this the best you can do? Lord went about rewriting the report until it was perfect, and gave it back to Kissinger. Again it was returned with the same note attached. Frustrated, Lord again polished his work. When it was returned a third time with the same question, Lord marched into Kissingers office and exclaimed, Damn it, yes, its the best I can do! Kissinger smiled and responded, Fine, then I guess Ill read it this time. Throughout your career, challenge yourself daily with the question, Is this the best I can do? RULE #5: The words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow serve as the next benchmark: He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that none can pierce. There are those who will try to lead you away from the path of integrity and commitment. They will jabber like a flock of parrots at your sense of mission and try to make themselves look better by pointing out your flaws and weaknesses, or reminding you of your past mistakes. Plato noted that evil people look for peoples faults, ignoring their good qualities, just as flies look for rotten parts of the body, ignoring the wholesome. Stay the course, follow your path, and dont be dissuaded by their criticism and grousing. People yearn for strong leadership, and in the end they will follow and

respect you. RULE #6: The Greek poet Euripides warned, Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make angry. The worst mistakes, poorest decisions, and biggest gaffs that we make during our careers are often hatched in the sweltering heat of anger. Statistically, they account for only a minute fraction of the decisions and actions that we take. Most of us are not angry people, but we all become frustrated and lose our temper from time to time. People of good conscience can close their eyes and relive these moments as vividly as if they are ground glass under their eyelids. The story is told of a martial arts student who got angry with his instructor and lashed out with an insult. The instructor stopped the lesson, and told the student to accompany him outside. When they were in the back yard, the instructor handed the student a hammer and nail and told him to drive the nail into a tree. When the student complied, the instructor said, Now pull the nail back out. The student pried the nail from the wood. The instructor then said, Now pull the hole out. Angry words are like nails we drive into others, and even though we can apologize later, the hole from their injury will always remain. RULE #7: Horace proclaimed, Seize the day! These words are the bugle call of the enthusiast, people who appreciate their purpose and talents. A number of years ago, I traveled to the east coast on a protective assignment. An officer with a large law enforcement agency was assigned to assist me. He was a young, enthusiastic officer who only had a couple of years experience. At the completion of the assignment, the rookie insisted on taking me by his headquarters building to meet his lieutenant. As we entered the building, the rookie asked the veteran desk sergeant if the lieutenant was available. The sergeant placed a finger to his lips and said, Shhh. He then hooked his thumb toward the lieutenants office, and there we saw the lieutenant was sound asleep at his desk. Ive never forgotten the look of embarrassment and disgust on the face of the rookie as he stammered, Sorry ... it doesnt look like a good time to bother him. I felt like striding in and flipping the old birds desk over, but resisted the temptation. I left, vowing that I would never allow myself to be discovered slumped over my desk, like those mechanical people in the Duracell commercial after their batteries have run dry. In other words, seize the day or get out of the way! RULE #8: The great philosopher Epicurus provides the next lesson: Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Appreciation for what we have and for the contributions of others is a quality that is rarer than a cold piece of sushi. Some people seem to be consumed by their jealousy of others. They take every promotion, special assignment, overtime check, and piece of new equipment that is handed to someone else as if there were a great conspiracy to deprive them of it. Lets face it: All things are not equal and never will be. To expect otherwise is to invite disappointment. Sometimes in life you get an ocean view room, sometimes the garden view. Learn to appreciate both views. It is mans nature to envy. An ancient Chinese proverb puts it this way: Mans heart is never satisfied; the snake would swallow the elephant. RULE #9: We live in a litigious society. Spill a cup of hot coffee on yourself? No

problem, sue McDonalds. Tire blow out, while youre doing ninety? Goodrich has deep pockets. Supervisor hurt your feelings? Drag the bum into court. Most people agree that things are way out of hand. That brings us to the next rule, courtesy of the great writer Herman Melville: Mishaps are like knives that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the handle or the blade. Throughout your career, good things will happen to you and bad things will happen to you. Many of the bad things will be the result of your own mistakes or poor judgment. There isnt a protector alive who hasnt gotten a bum deal once or twice in his or her career, or worked for a tyrannical supervisor. When youre overwhelmed with self-pity at how mistreated you are, refer to Rules 5, 6, and 8. RULE #10: That brings us to the last rule, again taken from ancient Japanese wisdom: If he works for you, you work for him. If you ever find yourself in a position of management, and basking in the glow of a successful operation, step aside and allow the rays to shine on those below you. Since Biblical times, a basic lesson of conduct has been the Golden Rule, though it wasnt given that title until recent history. The Shogun Scrolls were written by a Japanese scholar in 1195, and were meant to provide leadership advice to those who governed the realm. One entry warns, When a man has accomplished his goals it is easy for him to slip into the morass of three deadly attitudes: arrogance, conceit, and false pride. Nearly 2500 years ago, a student of the venerable Confucius asked whether there was one word, which might serve as a rule of practice for all ones life. Confucius replied, Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not display in his treatment of his inferiors. The astute reader will note that nowhere in these ten rules are the directives never make a mistake, or always be perfect. These are bars over which no one can leap, and standards that will doom you to fail. Most people dont expect it of themselves. Why, then, are we surprised when others fail to meet the standard? This is different from having a passion for perfection. Striving for mistake-free missions is the goal of every effective protector and assures that the principal will come back for more. Some readers, no doubt, will conclude, These rules are good, but A German proverb describes BUT as a fence over which few will jump. In Star Wars parlance, when Luke Skywalker balks at a difficult task and says, Ill try, Yoda admonishes him: There is no Try. There is only Do. It is an attitude of determination and success. As a grizzled old veteran, giving protective missions the same effort at fifty-five as I did when I was twenty-one, I offer the same advice to all of the Agent Skywalkers out there. Every rule listed above is a personal choice. They cant be mandated. You have to choose to follow this path or choose not to follow it. It's up to you. Benjamin Franklin stated in his autobiography that his journey for self-perfection began when he was a youth. He wrote down thirteen principles of ideal conduct in his journal, and chose one maxim each week to improve upon. Franklins code of conduct contained such axioms as resolve to perform what you ought, perform without fail what you resolve. He recorded all of his actions in which he excelled or failed in each chosen dimension. Through this continuous process of self-appraisal and correction, his goal was to die having lived a good life. An ongoing, honest self-appraisal of your own

protective strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, is perhaps the most difficult challenge in your career. These rules will serve you, as you serve others, and will see you through the darkest of times. Before you go another step in your career, demand an honest answer from yourself for this question: How large is the shadow of my leadership? Square inches, feet, or miles? May the [protective] force be with you!