Chris Edwards, President, Per Mar Security Services: Best Advice

Our Best Advice Q&A series rolls on with Chris Edwards, president of the electronic security division at Per Mar Security Services. He offers up the best advice he’s ever gotten, gives tips to security industry pros on the rise and singles out his ultimate business inspiration.

Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Chris Edwards: The best piece of advice I’ve ever received came from my dad. He told me a long time ago to pay attention to and emulate the best role model I could find who had the job I wanted next. “Act as if” is something he told me frequently. The ability to demonstrate that you can clearly do the next step up before you get that opportunity is the best way to position yourself for fast personal growth.

SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?

Edwards: The advice I would give to someone who wants success in our industry is to take accountability for your own development and go beyond whatever you are given for training inside of your organization. Especially for those just starting out, there is a lot to learn about how things work.

Putting in extra time on your own to gain mastery of what we do and how to do it will put you miles ahead of others who simply wait to be told what to do next. We have had many examples of this in our company and those folks have been given more opportunities and responsibility quickly.

SSI: If you could point to one person in the security industry and tell up-and-comers, “Make sure to listen to what they have to say,” whom would you pick and why?

Edwards: Eric Taylor at Bay Alarm is someone I suggest everyone listen to and not just people in sales. The thoughtful innovation he and his team show in terms of never being complacent and always experimenting with new and better ways to do things is incredible.

I learn something new and valuable with each interaction I have with him. Product ideas, marketing ideas, process ideas and effective people management – he always seems to have answers to problems that are encountered or opportunities to be leveraged.