EP 17 | 5 Leadership Lessons from a Secret Service Career for Successful Business Transitions

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In the world of business, not all deals are what they see.

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Fortunes rise, empires crumble, all with a stroke of a pen.

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Mergers, acquisitions, and hostile takeovers.

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Welcome to Mergers She Wrote, where we examine strategies and stories behind the biggest deals in business.

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Because in MA, the real risks are the ones you don't take.

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Welcome back to another episode of Mergers She Wrote.

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I'm your host, Paloma Goggins, and the owner of Nocturnal Legal.

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Today's guest is going to share how she transitioned from working in the Secret Service to the private security sector and the lessons she's learned and how you can apply them to your business transitions.

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Thank you so much, Christina, for joining me today.

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Thank you, Paloma.

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I'm happy to be here.

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I'm stoked to ask you questions.

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So a little bit about Christina.

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Christina Balaud is the founder of CMB Consulting LLC, which is a security solutions and consulting company serving high-level clients.

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And her past is really fascinating.

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She is a 25-year veteran.

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Did I get that right, 25?

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25-year veteran of the U.S.

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Secret Service.

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And so today we are going to talk about how she started her career in this sector, how she transitioned into the private sector, and the lessons she's learned along the way.

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Do you want to add anything to your bio before I jump in?

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No, I don't.

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I think that that covers it.

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We'll learn a little bit more about it as we talk in sure.

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Sounds great.

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So for starters, your career has spanned some of the most high-pressure environments imaginable, from Secret Service to the NFL, which you currently have as part of your client base.

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For business owners who are planning to undergo a high-stakes transition, like selling their business to an unknown third party, what advice could you give to them?

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Well, like any high-stakes industry or business, you know, security planning in my world is what became kind of top of mind.

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So planning, preparation, um, understanding the risks involved with making that transition is really key, right?

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Communication is key.

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You have to know what this company that's going to purchase your business is going to do with this baby that you've created, right?

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Are they going to maintain your message?

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Are they going to maintain your level of service to your customers?

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Um it transitions perfect beautifully into security because we, you know, it planning and preparation is what it's all about.

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And so any high-stakes merger, that's what it's all about, for sure.

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For sure.

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So I want to take a sidebar from our questions and tell us how did you get into the secret service?

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Because I think most people, when they hear, you know, anyone who's going into Secret Service, they're like, oh, cool, how did you get there?

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That's a great question.

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Um I was going to be a lawyer.

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Uh quick story: my grandfather was president of the California Trialers Association and a big mentor in my life.

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And I went to college and thought, well, I think I'm just going to be a lawyer like my granddad.

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Uh, graduated from school, came back to Arizona.

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Long story short, my uncle was a Phoenix police officer, big mentor in my life as well.

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We talked about what to do next.

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Lawyering was probably not going to be on the table, so he suggested I talk to somebody that he knew, a senior special agent in the Secret Service, and learn about that.

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And it's interesting because I was so taken, you know, watching the assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan back when I was a youngster, kind of took me right back to that.

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I thought, well, yeah, that'd be that'd be great because I can still serve, I can still be a part of something larger than myself.

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So um went uh to this little you know casual interview and spent you know two hours learning about the good, bad, and the ugly of the Secret Service.

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And I walked out and thought this is the job for me.

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So that was that was when I was 21 years old, and they finally hired me when I was 23.

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Interesting.

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Was and I know a little bit about the process for people who are looking to go into like the FBI and the CIA, where there's all these like extra steps and things, and obviously security clearances was getting the role at the Secret Service just as laborious and that there was a ton of hoops to jump through.

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Most definitely, right?

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You know, tests, taking the test again, um, panel interviews, polygraphs, fitness tests, um, more interviews.

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You know, the agency was very keen on making sure it would be a good fit long term.

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Um, this was back then, you you know, it's not like you wanted to join the Secret Service as a resume builder.

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This is a career, right?

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So it was very important for the agency to make sure the person they were hiring was it was a good fit.

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But um along the way, everybody had to agree that this person would be pushed through, pushed through.

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So if somebody, this was back then, but if somebody along that hiring process decided, you know, I just don't, I'm not feeling it, then that was the end of the of the road.

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So um it's very laborious.

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And then the once you get selected, um, the training's at least six months to nine months.

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I can imagine.

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I mean, my thought is like most people come with a moldable background, you know, it's not like you know the the secret service ways.

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You know, they've got to download all of that as part of your training.

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They do, but they try to select people that have that team-based approach.

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I was an athlete in college that already have uh, you know, your clean background, have already made good life choices, um, can critically think, you know, even at a young age, make uh sound decisions, um, those types of things really play into who they hire.

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That makes sense.

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That's awesome.

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All right, back to the questions.

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So those jobs require, you know, generally speaking, in the security jobs that you've had, total commitment, 24-7 readiness, um, constant alertness.

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How did you start to untangle your identity from your work and what parallels do you see with entrepreneurs trying to step back from their business?

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Because I can imagine working in the Secret Service, like you mentioned, when you were talking about sort of the long-term view that they had in hiring you.

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I mean, it's a lifestyle job in a lot of ways, not in the lifestyle job in the sense of like I'm on a yacht 24-7, flying around the globe with some president of a company, but more like this is your life.

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It's it's all consuming.

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I think learning to step away from what you do and going into who you are, right?

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Understanding that what you do does not completely define you is important.

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Um you know, entrepreneurs also have that, you know, they put their blood, sweat, and tears into their business to grow that.

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And I, as a special agent, did the same thing.

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And so learning to separate that a little bit at, you know, when you're on your tail end or when you're trying to sell your business or sell your concept is important, but you can't get away from it completely, right?

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Um it was, it was all encompassing.

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Uh I used to tell the young agents coming up, hey, you know, on your street, people are gonna find out that you're a secret service agent.

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They're going to criticize how often you take your trash out, they're gonna criticize your lawn, they're going to watch everything you do because you're automatically held to this higher standard um as a public servant.

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So um, you know, entrepreneurs, I think, have that same pressure on them as well.

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For sure.

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No, I think I mean we've seen it today with cancel culture and you know, the the fallout on social media of people who have taken and ex, you know, expressed their own political beliefs or their own thoughts and and the backlash around that.

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And so I think in a lot of ways, like you were saying, you know, being a public servant, you're more visible, but also as an entrepreneur, you're very visible in your own community.

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And if your community disagrees with what you've decided to publicly display as either part of your beliefs or your your thoughts, um you can also have that same backlash.

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Um I think it's important not just to understand that letting go doesn't mean losing control.

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I like that.

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Yeah, you can let go, but you can still, you know, have control of your life.

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Just you're you're just lifting and shifting your focus.

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And I was gonna say too, you know, you you mentioned transitioning, having a sort of a an ability to separate yourself a little bit as you're transitioning towards that goal, maybe as an entrepreneur or even as you were looking to sort of wind down your secret service position.

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Um, you know, can you describe a little bit more about like if someone were to, and I know this is really common in the business world, right?

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And I see this a lot with clients who are, they're really ready mentally to be done operating the business.

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As I would imagine, someone who has been is special agent the right term for your for what okay, it's like someone who's been a special special agent for so many years is really ready to just probably move to the next chapter.

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But at the same time, it's what you've known for so long.

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It's a it's a comfort thing as well.

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And so I I feel like a lot of times when I'm talking with clients who are, they're so excited, they're so ready for this next chapter.

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But when it comes to the reality of it, it's terrifying and they they grasp and they claw at the old, and it makes it really hard to make that transition.

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And I'm I'm assuming the government doesn't really have this like lingering, I mean, you're just done.

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You're done.

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So I would imagine that your whiplash when it comes to transition is far worse than potentially a business owner who gets to stay on and help transition their new owner into ownership.

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100%.

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Um, I I joke around when people ask me a question like that, and I say I was institutionalized, right?

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I I all I know was the Secret Service.

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I was raised my whole adult life.

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I started when I was 23, I retired when I was 50.

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So everything I know is is control, managing risk, waiting for bad things to happen.

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Um so yeah, there is that level of um, oh my god, like a hoarder that doesn't want to let go of their things.

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Um, but if you just sort of make space in yourself and understand, you just sort of know when you know, you know when you'll know then it's time to retire.

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When I retired, I was the special agent in charge of the Phoenix Field office.

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The office was in good shape.

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Um, my agents were doing good things, we were clicking along.

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Um uh we had some great investigations going, and we were also supporting some great protective missions.

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And I just I had already achieved my 25 years, and I just was like, you know, now's a good time to just let it go to someone else.

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You know, you just know.

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I I like the the idea of of knowing.

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I think for a lot of people, I don't know if they're they're necessarily self-aware enough to know until they've hit rock bottom, right?

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When they've lot left all their reserves, they're so tired, they're so exhausted, or they're sick.

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Like I see that so commonly too is people who have, you know, unfortunately run their business all the way until they physically can't anymore.

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Right.

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Is there anything that you did in your own personal experience that you were like, okay, as a so as someone who's more self-aware, obviously you're aware of all of your surroundings too.

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I would imagine that you at some point were like, okay, this is how I know I'm personally done or personally ready to move on.

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That's actually a really difficult question.

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It wasn't one factor.

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It was more of I knew I didn't want to go back to Washington, DC.

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While I love, I think it's one of the greatest cities in the world.

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I had done many years there on presidential and vice presidential protective um details.

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I didn't feel like going back.

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I had already achieved what I thought I achieved well beyond what I ever thought I would achieve in the Secret Service, as being this, you know, the retiring as an agent in charge.

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And I just felt that the office was in good shape.

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The agency itself was in good shape, but also I felt like we were sort of separating ideologically as well.

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Right.

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I came from kind of an old school way of doing things, right, in the early 90s.

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And um, you know, things changed.

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And um, you know, without without sounding negative or, you know, trying to be critical, I just saw some things moving in a direction that I thought I won't be able to be as effective anymore in this role if this is where we're going.

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Um since then, things have turned around significantly.

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Unfortunately, it took some serious events to make that happen.

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But um you just know, and I also knew that I I was in an I was I had already was married and divorced once.

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I had no children, I had sacrificed my entire life to this job.

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And at the time, I was with someone that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.

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And so I knew that if in order to do that, I had to make a change um professionally in order to be, you know, a good wife, you know, to this person.

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So um, you know, that helped per personally make that decision for me.

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Yeah.

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No, and there are so many similarities in your story that I hear with business owners that, you know, they come to me and I can't tell you how many times I get on the phone and they're like, yeah, I'm selling this business not because I'm ready to be done, but because my spouse has said that if I don't sell this business, I'm gonna be running it all by myself.

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That's tough.

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That's really tough because you may not be ready to.

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Yes.

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Well, and I I think too, some of it is an awakening, right?

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A reckoning of your life is continuing to progress, whether you're in it or not.

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And some people have brought to your attention that you're not present enough for them, right?

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And I think for some people, they do decide um to choose what they know and love, which is work.

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And and there's nothing wrong with it, but at the end of the day, there are so many people who I feel like are instead of looking at their career and saying, in some ways, how do I fix the business that I'm in so that I'm not the sole person pouring all of my time and attention into it for operations?

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Because unlike you, they do have an option to potentially bring other people in and alleviate some of that pressure, right?

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They don't have to be the person entirely that is responsible for everything.

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Um, but to your point, um, there's so much of that symmetry that goes on in an entrepreneurial journey.

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And to hear that sort of you you've had that moment of like, okay, is this what I want the rest of my life to look like?

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Is a is a solid question that many business owners, I think, no matter where they are in their journey, it could be one year, five years, twenty years, um, should ask themselves.

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Because I think it's easy to put your head down, work on your business, and look up, and 15 years has gone by and you've missed incredibly important milestones in your own personal life and with your own family.

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And 100%.

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So I I like that you shared that with us.

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Thank you.

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Of course.

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So both security work and running a business can become all-consuming.

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We kind of just talked about that actually.

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Um I didn't realize I was actually asking you my next question, kind of in a roundabout way.

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So we'll we'll skip that one.

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Um, but I you know, I think maybe I can tweak it a little bit because it's about balance.

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And so when you and tell me, you know, obviously, you know, I don't know your journey as well as you do.

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So tell me, like, when it comes to deciding to transition away from the secret service, and you started your own company and you're, you know, working in the private sector now, um, which sounds really cool too, um, generally speaking.

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But like in this transition, um, you know, what was your goal in finding?

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Obviously, you saw that you didn't have balance in the secret service.

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And I'm assuming that when you decided to transition, you're like, okay, I'm gonna get better balance in here.

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Definitely.

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What was the um overarching theme?

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Like, how did you go about trying to obtain that balance and and what were your visions and goals for the long term?

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Well, there's a little piece in there.

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So I basically retired on a Friday and then on Monday and went to go work for Amazon and their Global Security Operations Center.

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And a lot of people don't realize their GSOC is in Goodyear, Arizona.

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So it's outside of the Seattle area.

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Um, so you know, so that was my first taste of you know the private, private world, private industry, right?

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A private company.

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Um, I I feel like I needed that little stepping stone in order to just ease into the coolness of working, not for the you know, the great citizens of the United States of America defending the Constitution and protecting freedom, right?

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Now I'm working for you know the small company called Amazon.

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You may have heard of it.

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But we had still the mission was great, their customer service was something that they absolutely was the big tenet of of their of their company.

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So I appreciated the opportunity to get into something still meaningful, but yet take it down a little bit, right?

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Had a smaller group that I was managing and working with, um had to learn the processes.

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Um, so there was that little transition.

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Um, so I guess I would I would say I recommend if you're gonna do that, if you're gonna be an entrepreneur and sell your business, try to look for a way to still stay relevant in that industry and give back in a way.

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Um, you know, we were I was in a constant state of readiness.

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And so making that transition into kind of like a nine to five job, right?

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Now I'm working where I know my schedule, I know where I'm gonna be.

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You know, you didn't know that in the Secret Service.

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So making space to, you know, take a breath, rest a little bit, and plan your life around your life, not your job.

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I can only imagine the level of flexibility you had to have working in the Secret Service since you really, like you said, being a constant state of readiness.

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Um I was thinking about how working in the MA industry, people selling their business are on really quick timelines.

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Um, generally speaking, everybody is frantic.

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Uh I was just having this conversation with a group of individuals that uh we network with and how a lot of the clients that come in a transition phase uh they're they're just anxious, they're nervous, but they're also really interested in kind of going at a breakneck pace to get to across the finish line.

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Right.

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And so you talk about being in a constant state of readiness, and I feel like that's kind of how a lot of clients come to me is they're they're in this go, go, go mode.

00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:21.279
Um out of curiosity, just on a personal level, when it came to transitioning into the private sector and finding that better balance and taking time to rest, because I think so many entrepreneurs don't do that.

00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:30.240
Um, I I just I think that's something that people, you know, self-care generally speaking is just not something people talk about very much.

00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:40.960
Um when it comes to switching out of that constant state of readiness, you know, was there was it was it a tough?

00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:46.240
I'm trying to like, I guess I'm trying to imagine like how you got yourself out of that mode.

00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:52.240
Because to me, a lot of times when a transaction is done just on a personal basis, I'm fried.

00:19:52.400 --> 00:20:06.160
Like I'm so tired from running the rat race of, you know, 30 to 60 to 90 days of we're doing the diligence, we're drafting the documents, everyone's hurrying, we're working with the bank, everyone is on this, you know, rat race timeline.

00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:11.839
And then we get done, and I'm like, okay, I need three days to regroup and sort of decompress.

00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:17.200
And in your role in the Secret Service, I would imagine decompression time wasn't really built in for you.

00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:18.400
It wasn't possible.

00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:21.359
You know, we operated up here all the time.

00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:23.200
You know, uh, what's gonna go wrong?

00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:24.720
What's your plan if it does?

00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:27.119
Just a constant state of readiness, constant chaos.

00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.000
So, really, my fulfillment was in that chaos.

00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:38.799
So making time and and a plan, a path forward to find fulfillment with you know, clarity in what your life is gonna look like.

00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.519
You can start planning your life now, right?

00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:44.799
In the Secret Service, you couldn't plan your life.

00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:47.839
If you had kids, you and you you just had to be.

00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:51.039
We we I moved five different times in 25 years, right?

00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:58.079
Of course, I volunteered for everything and just dove right in, but um, that's a pretty normal career for a special agent.

00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.960
In other agencies, you don't move as often.

00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:07.359
Just by the nature of the double, the dual mission that the Secret Service had, we had the investigative side and the protective side.

00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:08.319
You moved.

00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:17.839
And so um we were constantly fulfilling our lives with the move, the chaos, getting to know the new office, you know, all of the things that go along with that.

00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:38.559
But if you're ready to make that transition, try to find the fulfillment in the clarity of knowing now you can plan your life around things you missed, family, birthdays, holidays, um sitting quiet on your patio with a cup of coffee, looking at the sunset, which is like my favorite thing to do.

00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.119
Um, and and taking the time to do that.

00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:42.559
So you can do it.

00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:48.880
You just need to concentrate on finding that clarity and finding the fulfillment in that clarity.

00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:57.200
Well, I was gonna say too, you know, my brother-in-law is an ex-green beret, and I know for him sitting still is hard.

00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:02.160
I can imagine that when you transitioned, sitting still at first was exceptionally difficult.

00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.799
I'm sure for most entrepreneurs, sitting still, especially if they fully retire, right?

00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:11.359
And have no plans, sitting still is like just death in a lot of ways.

00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:24.720
You hit a nerve because sitting still, watching world events unfold, and knowing you know, having been in the room during historical events and actually hearing what was being said and then watching on the news being reported completely inaccurately.

00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:38.240
Um, you know, watching um, you know, in today's day and age, having executive protection and having um, you know, executive protection and physical protection of people and facilities is more important than ever.

00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:48.720
Anywhere, I mean, let's just take a you know, Charlie Kirk, the healthcare CEO from United Healthcare, um, just to name a few, plus the attempts, you know, on President Trump.

00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:51.279
Um, no place is really safe anymore.

00:22:51.440 --> 00:23:01.279
So it's really important for companies to engage private security companies to create a system of protection for their people.

00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:10.880
Um so it is hard to sit there and just watch, you know, and and and then everyone's coming out saying, Hey, I was an officer for 10 years, I can be an executive protector.

00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:26.799
And while I respect their the work that they've done in the service, not everyone can be a protector or or work in the executive protection world effectively unless you have a certain set of skills, right?

00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:58.960
Um, some soft skills also, the ability to talk with CEOs, um, the ability to learn when not to talk, uh, to understand kind of um how easily that line can blur between being you know an assistant in a staffer carrying bags to actually being a protector and looking outside and you know, um conducting that advance, um, you know, you know, facilitating facilitating that communication with all the the partners that you're dealing with, company, where you're going, the venue, where the business meeting is.

00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:02.880
So uh yeah, it's hard to sit still.

00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:13.440
Um and I and I candidly I did go through, I would say, a period of anxiety when my body at a cellular level was used to being go, go, go, go, go.

00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:17.119
And when you're just finding yourself not doing anything, you go into panic mode.

00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:21.839
I started to panic, you know, just little panic, panic episodes.

00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.480
So breathing, box breathing is my friend, right?

00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:28.160
You know, do you know the box breathing thing?

00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:28.480
Right.

00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:48.319
So that's how you just relax and then just again plan the future and understand that it's not over, you're still relevant, you could still that's what being a consultant was all about, so that I could still share some knowledge, you know, help streamline a business, help focus um a new security company um with their their module and what's what they want to do.

00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:52.559
So I'm I'm still that's what I enjoy doing now is helping people set up their businesses.

00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:53.759
I I like that.

00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:59.839
I and I think that that will resonate with so many people listening that there's that fear, right?

00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:08.960
Potentially of what next, but also knowing that there is going to be a transition period and everyone goes through it.

00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:18.480
Um, I think that helps people to not feel so alone because I do think a lot of people do the transition and they feel exceptionally alone in that process.

00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:20.079
So you're not alone.

00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:21.039
Good.

00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:25.839
So in high-stakes security, you're trained to anticipate every possible risk.

00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:30.880
Do you find that same mindset shows up in how you plan and lead your business today?

00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:33.680
And how do you keep it from turning into over control?

00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.559
What's yeah, not everything needs to be controlled.

00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:42.480
So um it is great that uh that I can, you know, step back, take a breath.

00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:54.880
I'm not under any deadlines, I'm not beholden to Congress, I don't, you know, there's, you know, while you have to obviously follow the law, the difference in the Secret Service was, you know, everything you did or said was archived.

00:25:54.960 --> 00:26:11.200
Every piece of paper that you submitted, every ops plan, every map, everything that you submitted for a security plan was beholden to discovery or to um a future uh congressional inquiry if things went wrong.

00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:13.920
So everything had to be very measured.

00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:23.839
Um in the private sector, while you still want to deliver a good product and be as professional as you possibly can and serve your clients, you can take it down a notch.

00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:27.119
You can you also don't have the assets that you have in the federal government.

00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:32.960
So you have to be creative in ways, you know, and it sort of taps into that creative side of you.

00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:40.960
Um and it allows you to just slow down and come up with a security plan using other assets that you may not have, you know.

00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:51.920
We work very closely with our law enforcement partners and and help um you know just bolster what we've uh planned for by using off-duty police officers a lot of times.

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:57.680
Um hard vehicles, um technology out there is outstanding.

00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:05.200
And a lot of the the Secret Service way is prevention, you know, proaction rather than reaction.

00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:10.720
And and that stands true even in in executive protection in the private in the private uh sector.

00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:17.519
So understand not everything has to be completely controlled, but you have and you have time to come up with a plan.

00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:25.759
On a personal note, I was thinking about this as you were explaining being on high alert all the time.

00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:35.440
When you go out to places personally, I would imagine that you you are in security mode for yourself, for your family, for friends.

00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:41.519
Like anytime you go out, I would imagine that that part of your brain is just it just inherently functions.

00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:43.759
It's it's it's you can't shake it, right?

00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:50.480
I teach an active shooter class, um, and I teach, you know, preparedness is not being paranoid, it's just being prepared.

00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:54.000
And we talk about having situational awareness, right?

00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:58.079
That is something that you kind of have to train your mind and your body to to understand.

00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:02.240
And once you start understanding what situational awareness is, it just becomes natural.

00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:18.319
But to your point, I generally know where the bathrooms are, where the exit is, kind of understand the neighborhood of the of the building that we're in, um, and then understanding, you know, who's around us and uh making pretty quick assumptions on you know what's about to go down.

00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.079
And if something goes down, where am I going?

00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:22.000
And who am I who do I have to take with me?

00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:30.079
You know, it is it's tough for my husband because you know we try to make, you know, try to soften my approach a little bit.

00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:37.759
And um, he's great, he sells tractors, he's not in the industry, he's um, you know, he he understands quite well who he married.

00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:47.920
And um, we struggle sometimes where I'm like wanting to tap into my more feminine energy, and he's like, but but you you handled that last week.

00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:49.519
Why do I have to handle it this week?

00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:50.160
type thing.

00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:55.920
So um it can be a struggle, but it it is something that I cannot shake and will not be able to shake.

00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:02.559
I said I get again, I said it it is on a cellular level how how I am, and I was raised this way.

00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:05.279
I say I was raised in the Secret Service, I say that quite often.

00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:10.400
If you know me, and if you're a good friend of mine in my circle, you know I say I was raised in the Secret Service, you know.

00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:12.319
And um, that's not a bad thing.

00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:13.759
No, certainly not.

00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:26.480
No, and I and I I would argue that um anyone who's been in their line of work, it it's shaped them in ways that they operate in those ways all all the time.

00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:40.559
It's a permanent reflection of who they are, and granted, not probably to quite as much of an extreme as being in a state of of security detail for for someone who's president or ex-president or or you know, someone who's uh high up in the chain.

00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:50.640
But um certainly I think no matter what, it's important to remember that we all have predilection to things that shaped us and that we carry that.

00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:54.079
And the longer you're in it, the more it becomes a part of your identity.

00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:55.839
And it's not necessarily a bad thing.

00:29:55.920 --> 00:30:03.359
It's and in your case, I would argue being a close friend or your husband, you're I would feel very secure going out to places with you.

00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:04.799
Generally, yes.

00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:06.960
But I I like to not be in charge.

00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:14.319
Sometimes it's nice to just roll around at a concert oblivious to what's going on, but that's just not possible, right?

00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:14.640
Yeah.

00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:23.759
You know, large groups I inherently want to organize and you know, and just all sudden, you know, and understand the chaos that's going on around me.

00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:24.240
What is it?

00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:25.119
Is it good energy?

00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:26.240
Is it bad energy?

00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:30.319
What you know, those types of things you can't, but you don't always have to verbalize it.

00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:36.880
So sometimes I'm just sitting there with a blissful smile on my face, going, you know, WTF under my breath.

00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:38.880
That's awesome.

00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:40.000
I love that.

00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:43.440
Um all right, I'm going back to our list.

00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:44.880
I've sorry, I digress.

00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:57.920
Um so when that I and I think this quite next question, um, I think we've covered it because we talked a little bit about there being a void um when you transition.

00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:14.559
And I liked what you said about taking your skills and figuring out how to be of service to your industry in ways that maybe wasn't what you did previously, but can be extrapolated either for teaching purposes, for speaking purposes, as a consultant.

00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:15.680
I like all those.

00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:27.039
I'm listing them out for people listening because I want the people who are listening that are planning and thinking of exiting their business to start thinking about this now because it is the biggest boon for people.

00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:31.599
They don't do the planning, they don't do what you talked about, which is the pre-planning.

00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:41.279
And so they find themselves rushing to exit because they are mentally done, they are mentally spent, or they're getting pressure from their family to spend more quality time.

00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:54.880
And then they get across the finish line, and the plan was golf and travel, and those just simply aren't enough for someone who's been all encompassing operating a business, and you know, that's their life, that's their livelihood.

00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:57.279
So I think we've talked about that question.

00:31:57.359 --> 00:31:59.200
I'm gonna move on to the next one.

00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:04.160
Um that one we talked about too with the adrenaline.

00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:07.839
You've worked in environments where failure isn't an option.

00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:14.720
How did you learn to view mistakes or pivot differently once you became a business owner?

00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:15.680
Yeah.

00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:22.880
Um you have to reframe failure as feedback in the private sector, right?

00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:24.880
So you are gonna make mistakes.

00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:35.599
I think going back to a little bit about what you talked about just before is one of the hardest things for most people is to understand exactly what skills they can bring once they leave the structure of their business.

00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:39.359
And and that was really hard for me because I just this is what I did.

00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:40.079
I just do it.

00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:44.240
And how do I quantify what I can take to the rest of the world?

00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:46.640
Do they really want to hear what I have to say?

00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:49.920
But um, failure was not an option in the Secret Service.

00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:53.039
When there's failure, there are congressional inquiries.

00:32:53.359 --> 00:33:02.960
And um uh but in the private sector, failure is a way to go, oop, I gotta lift and shift, I gotta redirect, I gotta think of a different path forward.

00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:09.200
You have the time, you have the permission that you've given yourself to do that.

00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:12.240
And I I would just recommend people do take that, right?

00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:19.440
Understand that you're not in that high-stakes environment anymore, beholden to your board, you know, or um, or your staff.

00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:21.279
You're beholden to yourself.

00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:34.720
Take the time to allow failure to become a way for you to learn how to do it now in the regular world, outside of the world that you've built for yourself and the outside of that world that you've dedicated literally every moment of your time.

00:33:34.880 --> 00:33:41.920
The entrepreneurs that I know won't take a break because they're like, well, if I'm enjoying, if I'm on vacation, I'm not earning money.

00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:46.799
If I'm on vacation, I'm not making a name for myself, I'm not building my company.

00:33:47.039 --> 00:34:02.079
And while there's merit to that, you you still have to create space for yourself to relax so that you can go back to what you're doing with a fresh perspective, a fresh lens, and you know, maybe come up with some better ideas.

00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:06.720
So you just don't don't deny yourself that that that slowdown period.

00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:08.719
I couldn't agree more.

00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:18.079
Um, I think, you know, one of the questions I tend to ask my clients who are planning for the exit in a more imminent fashion, right?

00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:23.519
Maybe one to three years, is when was the last vacation you took?

00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:28.880
And then, you know, they'll tell me, you know, usually most business owners take vacations throughout the year.

00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:32.079
So that's usually not the question that's in, you know, not in a while.

00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:36.880
Or though I, although I do hear from time to time, people are like, I can't remember the last time I took one, right?

00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:44.480
But the people who do take vacations, I can't tell you how many times I've then asked the follow-up question, do you unplug?

00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:46.079
Or are you responding to emails?

00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:47.280
Are you taking phone calls?

00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:48.880
Are you holding meetings?

00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:58.400
And 99% of the time they're like, Well, yeah, the business wouldn't run in my absence or like things would slow down, or you know, staff might screw things up.

00:34:58.480 --> 00:35:03.599
And I'm like, okay, well, at some point, the business has to run without you.

00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:11.920
And you need to be able to take time, like you said, to refresh, to come back feeling excited to work in your business, right?

00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.280
Because a lot of people don't take that time to rejuvenate.

00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:21.920
And, you know, there are clients that I'm really proud of that come back to me, you know, six months later and they're like, I did it.

00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:22.960
And I'm like, what?

00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:24.320
And I turned my phone off.

00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:28.800
I went on a one-week vacation and I turned my phone off and it was terrifying, but I did it.

00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:33.679
And that little, you know, I always tell people, start with baby steps because you can, right?

00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:41.199
Um take a long weekend where you know people are going to maybe call you on a Thursday, Friday, or a Monday.

00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:45.280
Don't do it over a holiday weekend because that defeats the purpose, right?

00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:47.679
And and take turn your phone off, see how it feels.

00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:52.239
You don't have to jump in to the deep end for one week and turn your phone off.

00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:52.880
100%.

00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:55.920
I think women are are really bad about that too.

00:35:56.079 --> 00:36:15.199
And I this is um to what some of your women listeners, which I'm sure probably make up a majority, but um one of the things that I struggled with was well, if I'm not answering the email or the text or the phone call right away, then they're gonna think I'm slacking, or they're gonna think I'm not doing my job and I'm not engaged.

00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:21.119
And so that was um very debilitating for me because it's not, it's completely untenable.

00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:24.480
You cannot be completely present 100% of the time.

00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:33.599
But I was for many years, and it it took its toll physically on me, mentally on me, you know, emotionally.

00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:38.239
So, women, give yourself uh permission to do that.

00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.119
But you you hit on something that's very important baby steps.

00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:52.480
Say to your number one, hey, I'm going to Sedona, I'm gonna have my phone with me, but from you know, in the morning until about noon, I'm not gonna answer anything.

00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:55.440
I'm gonna be on a hike, you know, it can wait.

00:36:55.920 --> 00:36:56.880
Pass it on.

00:36:57.280 --> 00:37:10.480
And then start there and then set that expectation to the people that rely on you that you are gonna take those and set that boundary so that when you do set that boundary, there's it's also it's gonna elevate their respect for you automatically.

00:37:10.639 --> 00:37:24.320
When you have respect enough for yourself to say, hey, I need to slow down and I'm going to do that, and you have respect for them to say, and I'm going to do that between these hours, you've managed their expectations and you've set a boundary for yourself for some clarity and some rest.

00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:38.880
I can't tell you enough how much the setting expectations and creating boundaries piece is missing from so many business owners' lives, but especially female business owners' lives.

00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:55.360
And the more I talk to women, even if they aren't the direct business owner and they're just working in a role where they're sort of more entrepreneurial in that they're given a lot of laxity to do what they need to do in order to grow and build a book of business within the role of their larger company.

00:37:55.679 --> 00:38:06.239
You know, you sit down for a coffee or lunch and you sit down and you talk with them, and you realize they're doing what most women are trying to do, which is everything, and it just doesn't work.

00:38:06.480 --> 00:38:18.079
And a lot of them are burned out and trying to figure out how to, you know, live up to what this, I feel like the media sells, which is that you can do it all and you can make time for it all.

00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:24.320
And oh, and also add to that list time for yourself, and that becomes an item on your to-do list, right?

00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:51.840
Um, so I love what you had to say there, which is I mean, this is universal, not just for female entrepreneurs, for anyone in a business that they're the key operator, setting expectations not only among your clients, but your staff, your employees, your systems, you know, creating places where you have that space to breathe, to think, to do more.

00:38:52.079 --> 00:39:01.440
Um I learned that recently with the Charlie Kirk um, you know, passing and and that assassination and and and learning more about what he was all about.

00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:13.440
And you know, not to get political, but he took time, literally, people knew that at a certain period he was not on his phone, he was not answering emails, he was not, and that business ran fine without him.

00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:17.599
But he had set that expectation and his staff knew it.

00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:20.960
And that again, it grows an element of respect for the leader.

00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:26.159
When the leader can say, I'm checking out for this period of time, you guys have the helm.

00:39:26.559 --> 00:39:31.280
That again, that respects the process, it respects your staff, and it respects your time.

00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:34.320
So um I think that's really important to do.

00:39:34.400 --> 00:39:36.239
But it's very hard and it takes practice.

00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:38.079
It's not, it's so easy to say.

00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:40.079
It's very hard to do.

00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:42.239
Agreed, agreed.

00:39:42.639 --> 00:39:48.400
I I want to, I we've we've really covered a lot of these questions just in conversation.

00:39:48.480 --> 00:40:07.679
And so I want to take just a few minutes to talk a little bit about, you know, protecting protecting others in your role and sort of the symmetry, you know, one of my questions is about women entrepreneurs who feel exhausted from protecting their business, right?

00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:09.440
And what would be your advice to them?

00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:18.639
And I think in addition to that question, or maybe a sidestep to that question, because I feel like we've kind of answered it in a roundabout way, but I'm I'm happy to have you add lib here too.

00:40:18.719 --> 00:40:19.039
Yeah.

00:40:19.199 --> 00:40:33.679
Um, you know, as someone who has spent a lot of time protecting others, I feel like there's so much similarity in a business where you're working to protect your livelihood.

00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:39.360
You're working to protect your pipeline of clients, your referral partners, your ideas.

00:40:39.679 --> 00:40:44.400
Ideas, this the things that you've created, if you've invented products, right?

00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:50.880
There's always some form of I feel like operating from fear.

00:40:51.119 --> 00:40:57.039
And I think that at baseline, there's some of that too when you're in the security world, right?

00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:03.920
Not necessarily fear per se, but from this idea you had said earlier, which is like waiting for bad things to happen.

00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:17.199
And I would love for you to talk more on that topic and how, you know, transitioning to the private sector for you, obviously waiting for bad things to happen inherently doesn't go away in the in the sector that you work in.

00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:35.119
But for the average day business owner, you know, waiting for the ball to drop, I can't hear, you know, I can't, I can't tell you how many times I've heard from business owners that, you know, well, when I step down and a new owner comes in, things are just gonna fall apart.

00:41:35.360 --> 00:41:38.400
And all of their talk is just doomsday stuff, right?

00:41:38.480 --> 00:41:39.519
It's never positive.

00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:43.679
It's never, how do we make it work post-closing?

00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:45.360
How do I make it work now, right?

00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:46.480
In my current life.

00:41:46.639 --> 00:42:02.960
So I'd love to hear more about a, you know, how do you operate from a place of protection without it becoming all consuming and so negative that it colors your world in a in a way, in a sense.

00:42:03.280 --> 00:42:19.599
But also, how do you operate in your business now that, you know, for you wanting to protect something, how does it what are some things that a business owner could learn from what you do in your business daily that they can apply to them?

00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:20.960
It's really basic.

00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:24.400
It's communicating well and often, you know.

00:42:24.559 --> 00:42:30.960
Um you can't you can't over-explain the need for communication.

00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:36.719
Um, for example, you're getting ready to sell your business, you have your ideas that you've created, it's your baby.

00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:41.039
You want to make sure that the new business owner is carrying on at least part of that.

00:42:41.440 --> 00:42:43.440
Communicate that to them, right?

00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:51.679
Um, everything the Secret Service did required meeting, briefings, communicating, learning, looking at the what-ifs.

00:42:51.920 --> 00:42:55.440
So if you're worried about the doomsdays, that's fine.

00:42:55.599 --> 00:43:01.920
Consider the doomsday situations, but take time to come up with solutions and communicate what those are.

00:43:02.079 --> 00:43:02.559
I like that.

00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:07.199
So that you're so that when it does happen, you're not, whoa, I didn't expect that.

00:43:07.519 --> 00:43:13.840
And you know, be as crazy as you want to be about some of these doomsday scenarios because anything can happen these days.

00:43:14.079 --> 00:43:22.639
So um I would just, if you have, if if a company has the opportunity, because you mentioned earlier that these things kind of happen very quickly, sort of set the boundary right away.

00:43:22.719 --> 00:43:34.480
Look, hey, company person that's gonna buy my my business, I'm excited for your vision, for what you want to do with my product, but I want to pass on to you kind of how I the things that matter to me.

00:43:34.559 --> 00:43:42.639
Take two, three, four, five things that that matter the most that you want to see transition over with that new company and and and communicate what that is.

00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:49.920
And then when it comes to doomsday, just think of the bad thing that can happen and how you're gonna fix it.

00:43:50.639 --> 00:43:51.679
Plan for it.

00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:53.119
Write it down.

00:43:53.280 --> 00:43:55.199
Have a have your ops plans.

00:43:55.280 --> 00:43:57.760
Like we everything we do has an ops plan, right?

00:43:58.000 --> 00:44:01.360
So businesses can have their own operations plans too, you know.

00:44:01.599 --> 00:44:04.800
If A, then B, you know, we're gonna do this if this happens.

00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:07.440
We're gonna shift this way if we lose this many staff.

00:44:07.519 --> 00:44:10.000
If this the market crashes, we're going here.

00:44:10.159 --> 00:44:13.039
You know, if the government shuts down, we have to do this, right?

00:44:13.119 --> 00:44:15.119
We're in the middle of a government shutdown right now.

00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:18.800
So people are pivoting right now because they're not getting paid.

00:44:19.039 --> 00:44:21.440
So um just have a plan.

00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:25.920
As as in the secret service, as in as in your own business, have a plan.

00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:39.039
You touched on something that is so important and that I hadn't thought, you know, when I think of Secret Service, I think of, you know, the presence standing on a podium with people in black suits next to them, right?

00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:42.079
Everybody's got the earpiece, there's people scattered around.

00:44:42.239 --> 00:44:59.199
And I think of the action of actually physically protecting someone, but I hadn't thought so much about the pre-planning and all the communication that goes in to every single event or place where someone that's being protected is going to go to and what that involves.

00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:05.360
And so when you guys, and I I love this idea of if a, then what happens?

00:45:05.599 --> 00:45:06.320
B, right?

00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:21.920
I love this idea of taking the unknown and sort of making it less unknown by putting it on paper, coming up with it's almost like, in a weird sense, a journaling prompt for when you have just like this unknown anxiety about so many unknowns in your life, right?

00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:35.440
It's just like put it all down on paper, but go a step further in that you're trying to solve for it with potential solutions so that it's not so unknown, I guess is really the best and clearest way to say it.

00:45:35.760 --> 00:45:43.119
But for communication, you know, I think it's a skill that people struggle with.

00:45:43.280 --> 00:45:45.360
I think it's a skill that people think that they have.

00:45:45.519 --> 00:45:52.480
And then when it comes time to communicate, they realize just how difficult it is because people are coming from so many different places.

00:45:52.960 --> 00:45:57.920
I would imagine that communication for you guys was absolutely critical.

00:45:58.159 --> 00:46:10.239
You know, what are some things that you learned about communication in that role, or even that they taught you as part of training that would be helpful for someone, just a lay person, to know and implement?

00:46:10.800 --> 00:46:15.199
Asking the follow-up questions, like, do you under you understand where I'm coming from?

00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:16.880
Does this make sense to you?

00:46:17.199 --> 00:46:23.519
Can you, you know, without being condescending, can it walk me through what we just discussed so that I know that you understand?

00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:27.199
One of the things, this is a very simple action that leaders took in the Secret Service.

00:46:27.360 --> 00:46:38.480
One of the things that I used to do, when we have our poststanders on posts, you know, we we use utilize Secret Service personnel and we place them in strategic areas around a protected site.

00:46:39.199 --> 00:46:45.199
Um they have post instructions, things that they're supposed to do at that particular position.

00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:54.880
Um when time allowed, I walked from post to post to introduce myself, ask them if they had everything they needed and if they understood what their instructions were.

00:46:55.599 --> 00:47:01.280
And many times they would say, Well, I'm supposed to stand here and they're doing the right thing.

00:47:01.360 --> 00:47:07.360
They're diligent, they look great, they're physically fit, but they don't, they may have missed that absolute key piece of information.

00:47:07.440 --> 00:47:12.639
So I'm like, okay, well, you're right, but we need to add this to this.

00:47:12.719 --> 00:47:16.719
You're supposed to actually be doing it this way and be look facing this direction.

00:47:16.960 --> 00:47:28.880
So take the opportunity to open those lines of communication in a Socratic type method that's not you just telling them what you want, but more do you understand?

00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:30.320
Is there something I'm missing?

00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:34.559
Good leaders also ask if there's something that we need to add, right?

00:47:34.639 --> 00:47:36.800
They trust their staff has ideas too.

00:47:37.119 --> 00:47:39.519
So do you understand what I'm trying to say?

00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:40.320
Yes, I do.

00:47:40.400 --> 00:47:42.239
Well, is there anything you'd be doing doing different?

00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:43.440
Am I missing something?

00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:53.519
Just open those lines of communication and do it in a gentler way where you're making it conversational while still also saying, you know, well, hey, great idea.

00:47:53.599 --> 00:47:56.159
That's not going to work today, but you know, keep that in mind.

00:47:56.320 --> 00:47:58.719
Today I want you to focus on this, right?

00:47:59.119 --> 00:48:04.400
So just in a nutshell, I would say to your other point, people think they're really good communicators.

00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:08.400
Um, communication is again something that's learned, it's honed.

00:48:08.480 --> 00:48:12.719
It is not something that people innately have a skill at doing.

00:48:13.039 --> 00:48:16.639
Um, and so I also recommend people get help.

00:48:16.719 --> 00:48:18.480
Talk to a communications expert.

00:48:18.559 --> 00:48:21.039
You had one um, you know, yes, Jen.

00:48:21.280 --> 00:48:26.079
Yeah, and um really drew a lot of inspiration from her from your discussion with her.

00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:39.280
But get some help if you feel like you might be lacking or you're in that rat race and now you don't know how to get off that hamster wheel, and get some outside help to help you, you know, parse things down and become a better communicator.

00:48:39.360 --> 00:48:41.039
But communication is key.

00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:42.559
So true.

00:48:42.719 --> 00:48:53.679
And I my conversations with Jen, we always get done, and I'm like, man, I wish I could just come up with the phrases that she comes up with because I mean, obviously, that's her expertise.

00:48:53.760 --> 00:49:03.039
And so when she comes up with, you know, I'll be like, you know, rambling on about the things that I want to communicate, and she'll just still it into like a one sentence that's super direct, and I'm like, that is amazing.

00:49:03.119 --> 00:49:04.400
I'm writing that down.

00:49:04.639 --> 00:49:14.320
But, you know, clearly um it takes time, like you said, it takes time, but also I think it takes some humility in realizing that everybody's background is different.

00:49:14.559 --> 00:49:25.280
And so while you think you might be communicating something clearly, you said Socratic method for anyone listening that doesn't know what that means right off the top of their head, and maybe you're driving, you don't want to Google it.

00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:26.480
It's asking questions.

00:49:26.559 --> 00:49:32.000
They use it all the time in law school classrooms, which is the bane of all of our law student existence.

00:49:32.079 --> 00:49:33.679
Uh and listening to the answer.

00:49:33.920 --> 00:49:34.480
Yes, right?

00:49:34.719 --> 00:49:34.960
Yes.

00:49:35.280 --> 00:49:40.239
And then letting them ask a question to you, and then you come up with the answer and it goes back and forth.

00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:45.440
Uh, as elementary as that sounds, that is basic good communication, right?

00:49:45.679 --> 00:49:46.239
Absolutely.

00:49:46.400 --> 00:49:47.199
No, it it is.

00:49:47.280 --> 00:49:53.360
And I do think having people, to your point, having people repeat.

00:49:53.519 --> 00:50:13.039
I mean, even in a in a role where you're outlining project expectations to your staff or your employees, or even maybe your clients, and having them relay them back to you to make sure that they've heard what you think you've said can be such a critical component to making sure everyone's on the same page.00:50:13.199 --> 00:50:18.480


I mean, I remember uh I worked at the United States Attorney's Office in Milwaukee when I was in law school.00:50:18.639 --> 00:50:20.079


I loved it, it was very cool.00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:36.000


We did some really cool things, but I had a person that I worked with in the office that I started to always repeat back the list because I learned that no matter what, like what she said and what I put down on paper, it wasn't what she had in mind.00:50:36.159 --> 00:50:48.000


And so I learned really quickly I needed to sort of, as annoying as it was for her, for me to relist everything back to her, it was really for me to make sure I had gotten like what she really wanted at the heart of it, right?00:50:48.159 --> 00:50:50.239


And I don't think she meant any ill by it.00:50:50.320 --> 00:50:54.880


It was just what she said and what she was thinking were always sort of like two different things.00:50:55.119 --> 00:51:03.440


Um, but so I think, you know, I I don't want to, I think we've covered our the questions really well.00:51:03.760 --> 00:51:18.880


I want to spend before we're done with our time today, I want to spend a little bit of just the time we have left talking to you about a couple of things that I thought of at least as questions in my mind as you were talking.00:51:19.039 --> 00:51:41.920


And and you're welcome to share too some additional things that you think would be helpful for a listener who's a business owner or someone making a big transition that's even, you know, something not necessarily as similar, identical as you, but similar in that you have a really big move from either a public to a private sector, or maybe they're doing a lot of traveling and then they're gonna move to a position where they're not traveling as much, right?00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:44.000


These big life changes.00:51:44.320 --> 00:51:57.039


Um when it comes to the private security sector, um, I appreciate that there's a lot less red tape than Secret Service and all these procedures and protocols.00:51:57.280 --> 00:52:10.079


I would imagine when you come into a company that doesn't have or hasn't had worked with someone in your position, all of that, the the procedures, the protocols, the systems, the process is missing.00:52:10.320 --> 00:52:18.239


And so you're coming into a place where I would imagine you're creating a lot of that for them, or at least teaching them the process to implement those systems.00:52:18.400 --> 00:52:18.960


Yes.00:52:19.599 --> 00:52:30.159


Similarly, I would I would imagine there's a lot of symmetry with a business that just simply is operating without many of those procedures and systems in place on a general level.00:52:30.320 --> 00:52:35.440


When you're coming in and trying to tackle that, regardless of the size of the company, where do you start?00:52:35.599 --> 00:52:37.679


Because that seems like such an insurmountable project.00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:38.960


That's a great question.00:52:39.119 --> 00:52:45.920


Um, it's very hard to get companies to buy into physical protection of their leaders.00:52:46.320 --> 00:52:51.760


Nobody feels that they are uh that there's a threat against them, then nobody feels that they are in danger.00:52:51.840 --> 00:52:54.639


They're like, I'm just a CEO of a company, who cares about me?00:52:55.360 --> 00:53:10.320


There's always somewhere out there, and I and I try to explain this without sounding like you know a doomsdayer, but somewhere out there, if you have a social media presence and you make a lot of money and you have a product that's popular, there's somebody out there that wants you to fail.00:53:10.800 --> 00:53:16.239


And there's somebody out there that has a little bit of mental instability that's gonna take it upon themselves to help you fail.00:53:16.719 --> 00:53:19.119


So people don't recognize that.00:53:19.280 --> 00:53:26.880


So you start small and instead of going right to that, you just understand, well, what you know, what security methods do you already implement?00:53:27.039 --> 00:53:31.280


Oh, well, I have a driver and he picks me up at my house and drops me off my business.00:53:31.760 --> 00:53:32.239


Great.00:53:33.679 --> 00:53:41.519


What can we do to you know just baby steps on hey, you know, depending on the the threat, there might already be a threat against this person.00:53:41.599 --> 00:53:53.039


But if there isn't and they're just a public figure or they're just like I mentioned before, a popular CEO, or they are a CEO in a polarizing industry, again, healthcare comes to mind.00:53:53.599 --> 00:54:05.199


Um just start small, create, work with the the uh the assets they already have in place, understand what their budget is, understand what their willingness is, and just incrementally get in there.00:54:05.280 --> 00:54:11.920


I met with a a Secret Service colleague last night, and she's in the middle of that process right now with a with a good company.00:54:12.079 --> 00:54:14.159


Um, but they they don't know what they don't know.00:54:14.320 --> 00:54:26.400


So it is a incumbent upon us to use our training and expertise to help guide them down the road that is going to come up with a good security posture, a good security plan for what they're trying to accomplish.00:54:26.639 --> 00:54:27.679


But the baby steps.00:54:27.760 --> 00:54:36.960


You can't just come in and be like, Well, we're gonna do all these great things because you know people forget too, Secret Service or sorry, security doesn't make money, it takes money.00:54:37.199 --> 00:54:43.599


We don't we're the seek the security aspect of a company is not a money-making of course, yes.00:54:44.559 --> 00:54:52.239


But I say that if your CEO gets assassinated, you're gonna lose a lot of money.00:54:52.400 --> 00:54:54.559


Your company's gonna lose a lot of money, right?00:54:54.639 --> 00:54:58.000


Like there's gonna be a lot of problems that stem from that.00:54:58.239 --> 00:55:05.360


So let's be proactive in that approach and do what we can and just incrementally, you know, lay it on.00:55:06.159 --> 00:55:17.679


I I think it's so short-sighted for any company to think that losing their key leadership isn't a massive loss to the potential revenue and income and continued operations of their company.00:55:17.760 --> 00:55:22.079


I mean, I know on paper the legal industry is very similar to the security industry.00:55:22.159 --> 00:55:24.559


We're a lot of times viewed as a cost center, right?00:55:24.719 --> 00:55:26.000


Until something bad happens.00:55:26.079 --> 00:55:32.239


And then all of a sudden it's like, well, we're so glad we have you in place in order to prevent the harm that occurs.00:55:32.400 --> 00:55:39.440


But that harm in in your case too, it's very invisible unless it happens or it has happened and people have that previous experience.00:55:40.239 --> 00:55:47.920


So I can appreciate that people view security in that sense, even though it can be so critical.00:55:48.000 --> 00:55:49.519


And I especially in today's world.00:55:49.679 --> 00:56:03.440


I was, you know, doom scrolling on Instagram one night, and there's a gentleman on there, and I can't think of his handle or his username, but he can figure out where you are based on your background, even with just the most minuscule of details.00:56:03.599 --> 00:56:04.480


And it's terrifying.00:56:04.639 --> 00:56:19.519


He will they will send him videos that they think are hard or difficult, and it will take him roughly 10 minutes or less to figure out where they are in Google Maps, and he's narrowed it down based on what's in the background, where the sun is located.00:56:19.760 --> 00:56:20.079


Yes.00:56:20.239 --> 00:56:39.039


And so this idea that you're posting to social media, and there's so many people in their business life and their personal life posting their entire life on social media with all the background of the stuff that exists in their, you know, backyard, in their hometown, in their own house.00:56:39.280 --> 00:56:48.320


And I think your point is so valid, which is that the more success you have, there are people that just are wanting you to fail.00:56:48.400 --> 00:57:02.000


And I think that that view of it is so critical for anyone in business because generally speaking, you don't have to be the CEO of a giant healthcare company to have something like that happen.00:57:02.239 --> 00:57:08.639


Um, and I think that people have this false sense of security because you can't see all the people viewing your video.00:57:08.800 --> 00:57:12.559


You can't see them sitting on their phone watching your video directly.00:57:12.639 --> 00:57:14.719


And so there's that disconnect, right?00:57:14.880 --> 00:57:24.400


Um, so I love what you had to say because I think it it has to be said there's the more connected we become in today's world, the more danger inherently there is.00:57:24.719 --> 00:57:25.440


It's true.00:57:25.760 --> 00:57:32.400


Social media footprints are are everywhere, and people get triggered in the strangest for this in the strangest ways.00:57:32.480 --> 00:57:34.400


So yeah, for sure.00:57:34.639 --> 00:57:37.599


Well, I really appreciated our conversation today.00:57:37.760 --> 00:57:43.920


Thank you so much for being on and sharing your history of working with the Secret Service and working in the private sector.00:57:44.079 --> 00:57:47.679


I think this topic is super fascinating, and thank you for your service.00:57:47.920 --> 00:57:49.280


It was my pleasure, Paloma.00:57:49.440 --> 00:57:50.559


Thank you for having me here.00:57:50.880 --> 00:57:55.760


If you like this episode, please like and share and tune in for next week's.00:57:56.800 --> 00:58:02.079


In the world of business, not all deals are what they see.00:58:02.800 --> 00:58:08.320


Fortunes rise, empires crumble, all with the stroke of a pen.00:58:09.199 --> 00:58:12.880


Mergers, acquisitions, hostile takeovers.00:58:13.119 --> 00:58:22.400


Welcome to Mergers She Wrote, where we examine strategies and stories behind the biggest deals in business.00:58:22.800 --> 00:58:28.079


Because in MA, the real risks are the ones you don't take.