The Great Conversation

Mark Oakes has spent 40 years in security and owns 7 successful businesses. So, naturally, I wanted to know how he thinks about creating a valuable business. Our discussion quickly became a tutorial on the nature of trust, the ‘bedrock’ or cornerstone of a corporate DNA he has persistently nurtured. To Mark there is no grey. And rather then being a constraint, he sees it as enabling people to develop trust in themselves while earning the trust from others.

You will want your pen in hand as he defines the path to trust.

Mark is the founder and CEO of Concentric Security, one of the nation's foremost Perimeter Security Solutions Providers for homeland security and force protection applications that meet the federal guidelines and standards. They deliver a full range of services including planning, security engineering, technology selection, full site integration, construction and follow-on service and maintenance

The times call for trusted advisors backed by a cutting-edge risk operations center leveraging a network of human and digital assets. It is a model that is difficult to fund, design, operate, and maintain. But there is a window of opportunity to fundamentally change the way companies manage their risk and to executives like Robert Dodge, that time is now.

Robert Dodge is the CEO of Global Risk Services at Prosegur, a world leader in the private security industry. Through its five business lines —Prosegur Security, Prosegur Cash, Prosegur Alarms, Cipher and Prosegur AVOS— it offers companies, households, and retail businesses security they can trust, based on the most advanced solutions in the market.

Robert has a proven track record of building high performing businesses/teams spanning multiple regions around the world. He was formerly responsible for G4S Corporate Risk Services Division which provides specialized protective/investigative/consulting and intelligence services globally.

Lisa Oliveri is the Director of Global Safety and Security for EDC (Education Development Center), a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity. EDC has been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

With this global perspective, I sought to find out how this business-savvy global influencer in security management was understanding our world at this moment and what guidance she could give us in helping us achieve a measure of personal and corporate readiness.

Lisa oversees all activities related to security, risk assessment and management, crisis response, protocol development, information analysis, and technical assistance to the field. She manages security for international projects and advises on US Home Office security policies and procedures. She also is coordinating EDC’s international crisis response protocols, supporting business continuity planning, and assisting with incident management.

Eric McNulty is the Associate Director of The National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI). NLPI is a joint venture of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership.

NLPI has a crisis leadership training and research program dedicated to preparing those who lead in safety and security, business continuity, and disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. They have trained more than 10,000 leaders across 30 U.S. States and 10 countries.

Which brings us to the book. I originally tracked down Eric to understand a term he used: Meta Leadership. This took us on a journey to understand the term ‘leadership’ and the need for a big picture view.

Why is this needed? Today, in an instant, leaders can find themselves face-to-face with crisis. An active shooter. A media controversy. A data breach. In You're It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most, the faculty of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University takes you to the front lines of some of the toughest decisions facing our nation's leaders-from how to mobilize during a hurricane or in the aftermath of a bombing to halting a raging pandemic. They also take readers through the tough decision-making inside the world's largest companies, hottest startups, and leading nonprofits.