Does Broken-Windows theory apply to Anti-Passback policy? I would argue emphatically that it does. Since the mid-nineties the “fixing broken windows” theory has been speculated as the primary cause for the precipitous decline in crime in New York City under the direction of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. While the exact cause of the decline in crime in the nineties is debated in books like Steven Levitt's and Stephen Dubner’s “Freakonomics” and Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point: How Little Things can Make a Big Difference”, the “Broken Windows” theory remains doctrine in many security circles.
But how does this apply to Anti-Passback?
First, as any security engineer or consultant will tell you, Anti-Passback is only as good as the policies in place to enforce the rule. If a violation occurs and the violator is simply granted access as a way to ensure he/she can be at their desk or station on time without repercussion, then passback programming fails to meet its objective. However, if procedures are in place to make it punishable or at least inconvenient for the violator, then the goal of the objective is held true.
Many consultants will tell you that US policies are more difficult to enforce because we are just too courteous. We have been raised to be a gentleman or lady and to hold the door for the next person entering a building. It is just not polite to pull the door closed behind you and make the next person use his/her credential to re-open the door. In Europe there are less passback problems (infer your own opinion here). However, this politeness is a gaping hole in corporate (commercial, industrial) security. This is a particular problem in larger corporations where employees may not know the person (violator) following them into a building or a secured area.
By following “broken-windows” theory, instituting a hard-line, zero-tolerance approach to passback violation I believe can send a message to cardholders that passback is necessary for the security of the facility and should not be ignored. By showing notable repercussions and creating an example out of offenders, the remaining cardholders are more likely to ignore their instinct to be courteous and therefore create a safer environment.
I should note that there are obvious devices that can assist with passback problems, such as optical turnstiles, but when talking about an entire facility and a global passback environment, turnstiles may not be feasible at the entrance to every “nested” area, and policy is once again the ultimate enforcer of passback violation.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Training “Features” to Become Benefits
Recently, I was discussing the values of training with some colleagues, and the process also helped to clarify a few of our sales objectives.
Candidly, during our sales process at Suite-Soft, we tend to focus on the relevant differences between the product benefits to the customer, versus feature-sets. There are quite a few contemporary business texts that will illustrate this to be the most effective sales approach. The theory is to inundate your customer with benefits of your product/service rather than your generic deliverables. This process requires the sales team to analyze your customer and determine which feature-sets can be functional benefits for the customers during their implementation of the product. On the surface, this seems valid since we (as developers) are much more in tune with our own products' features and what they were designed to do than presumably our customers would be.
The mistake to this theory, in my opinion, lies in the arrogance that assumes that our customer may not be able to discern all the benefits from a group of features, but we most assuredly can conclude how best to use these features based on our “expert” analysis of their business cycle. I think this can be a very big gaffe, especially for small businesses.
Instead of operating in a vacuum, we look at a tandem approach to the sales cycle and add relevant product training allowing for the customer to extract benefits from feature-sets. For us, training becomes much more than a support tool and rather is viewed as instrumental in both the pre-sales and post-sales processes. By incorporating training curriculum and tools such as webinars and online discussion groups, the customer is much more equipped to extract benefits from the feature-sets described. By incorporating benefit discovery during the post-sale training, the door is now open to greater future sales and customer-relationship development.
Candidly, during our sales process at Suite-Soft, we tend to focus on the relevant differences between the product benefits to the customer, versus feature-sets. There are quite a few contemporary business texts that will illustrate this to be the most effective sales approach. The theory is to inundate your customer with benefits of your product/service rather than your generic deliverables. This process requires the sales team to analyze your customer and determine which feature-sets can be functional benefits for the customers during their implementation of the product. On the surface, this seems valid since we (as developers) are much more in tune with our own products' features and what they were designed to do than presumably our customers would be.
The mistake to this theory, in my opinion, lies in the arrogance that assumes that our customer may not be able to discern all the benefits from a group of features, but we most assuredly can conclude how best to use these features based on our “expert” analysis of their business cycle. I think this can be a very big gaffe, especially for small businesses.
Instead of operating in a vacuum, we look at a tandem approach to the sales cycle and add relevant product training allowing for the customer to extract benefits from feature-sets. For us, training becomes much more than a support tool and rather is viewed as instrumental in both the pre-sales and post-sales processes. By incorporating training curriculum and tools such as webinars and online discussion groups, the customer is much more equipped to extract benefits from the feature-sets described. By incorporating benefit discovery during the post-sale training, the door is now open to greater future sales and customer-relationship development.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
A Leader's Passing
Sometime last evening our country lost a great leader in its 38th President, Gerald R. Ford Jr. When looking back on President Ford’s life and particularly his presidency, we are reminded of particular leadership qualities that are at times taken for granted. Mr. Ford, by all accounts, was a likable, hardworking individual who recognized the position he was given and particularly what role had to be fulfilled in that position.
As a football player at the University of Michigan during his sophomore and junior seasons, he was a back-up (behind All-American athletes) and a role-player on teams that won conference titles. During his senior year, when it was his turn to fill the role, Ford became an All-American center and was offered multiple contracts to play professionally. As a Congressman, Mr. Ford was the consummate district-service politician, legislating on behalf of his constituency and fulfilling his role as it is defined in a representative government. As an executive, President Ford was a national healer.
Not one business leader would envy the circumstances in which Gerald Ford took office as “CEO” of this nation. Scandal had rocked the Office of the Presidency, Mr. Ford himself was never elected (either as Vice-President or as President after taking over for a resigning Richard M. Nixon), and the domestic economy was battling inflation and an impending energy crisis. Add to these circumstances, the foreign policy nightmare that was Vietnam in the early 70s and we can imagine that this was not an enviable position. Yet Mr. Ford took charge and went about his term by identifying his role in bringing our nation out of scandal and focusing on building a more productive future.
Gerald Ford’s presidency was not a long one (2½ years), but in this time he was able to bring several chapters of conflict and trouble to a close. His often criticized pardon of former President Richard Nixon was not a popular move, but as a realist President Ford needed the Watergate scandal to be closed. He also ended the conflict in Vietnam and worked towards reducing arms with the Soviet Union. President Ford was not in a position to completely turn around domestic issues (that would follow later under the Reagan-Bush-Clinton eras), but he was able to recognize his role and lead effectively through this period.
As business professionals, we can all learn something about the qualities of leadership from Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. Understanding your position and identifying your role to improve and build your company is a fundamental building block to success. Our nation lost a true leader last night and we were all fortunate to have known him for so long.
As a football player at the University of Michigan during his sophomore and junior seasons, he was a back-up (behind All-American athletes) and a role-player on teams that won conference titles. During his senior year, when it was his turn to fill the role, Ford became an All-American center and was offered multiple contracts to play professionally. As a Congressman, Mr. Ford was the consummate district-service politician, legislating on behalf of his constituency and fulfilling his role as it is defined in a representative government. As an executive, President Ford was a national healer.
Not one business leader would envy the circumstances in which Gerald Ford took office as “CEO” of this nation. Scandal had rocked the Office of the Presidency, Mr. Ford himself was never elected (either as Vice-President or as President after taking over for a resigning Richard M. Nixon), and the domestic economy was battling inflation and an impending energy crisis. Add to these circumstances, the foreign policy nightmare that was Vietnam in the early 70s and we can imagine that this was not an enviable position. Yet Mr. Ford took charge and went about his term by identifying his role in bringing our nation out of scandal and focusing on building a more productive future.
Gerald Ford’s presidency was not a long one (2½ years), but in this time he was able to bring several chapters of conflict and trouble to a close. His often criticized pardon of former President Richard Nixon was not a popular move, but as a realist President Ford needed the Watergate scandal to be closed. He also ended the conflict in Vietnam and worked towards reducing arms with the Soviet Union. President Ford was not in a position to completely turn around domestic issues (that would follow later under the Reagan-Bush-Clinton eras), but he was able to recognize his role and lead effectively through this period.
As business professionals, we can all learn something about the qualities of leadership from Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. Understanding your position and identifying your role to improve and build your company is a fundamental building block to success. Our nation lost a true leader last night and we were all fortunate to have known him for so long.
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