The Best Advice Q&A series continues with Ira D. Riklis, chairman and chief executive officer at COPS Monitoring and 2026 SSI Industry Hall of Fame inductee. He offers up the best advice he’s ever gotten, shares tips for up-and-coming security industry professionals and shares the name of his ultimate inspiration.
Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Ira Riklis: Believe in yourself. If you don’t, then don’t start down a separate path.
There is an excellent book by Andy Grove, the former CEO of Intel, entitled Only the Paranoid Survive. A certain amount of healthy concern will serve you well.
Lack of belief in yourself and your abilities will not serve you well.
SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?
Riklis: Don’t follow the crowd. A crowded environment is not an area filled with opportunity.
When I entered the wholesale side of the alarm monitoring business over 37 years ago, it was a sparse environment, shunned by most companies. Today, we are one of the “fair-haired children” of the alarm space, pursued by every private equity firm that has suddenly discovered the appeal of the business.
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?
Riklis: That’s a tough one! I have met many people in this industry that I respect greatly and have contributed to my understanding and success. Also, picking just one guarantees that all the rest will be annoyed at me.
So here I go, offending a great many people whom I respect deeply and to whom I offer my abject apologies! Stan Oppenheim of DGA Security and Affiliated Central is my pick.
In addition to Stan’s encyclopedic knowledge of the industry, he has a sharp business mind, he bootstrapped himself from nothing to one of the most successful persons in the business, and perhaps most remarkable of all, a willingness to selflessly share his experience with others for their gain, not his own.
Click here to check out all entries in SSI’s Best Advice series!
