Steve Lindsey, Chief Technology Officer, LVT: Best Advice

We continue our Best Advice Q&A series with Steve Lindsey, chief technology officer of LiveView Technologies (LVT). He shares the best advice he’s ever gotten, reveals how he lifts up others in the security industry and unveils the person whose words carry the most weight for him.

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

Steve Lindsey: “Clean up after yourself!” It goes deeper than just the literal meaning.

To me it means:

• Don’t leave a mess for others to clean up (work responsibilities, parental/family responsibilities, community responsibilities, etc.)

  

• What am I leaving in my wake that will negatively impact someone else?

• What are the long-term effects of my actions/decisions that someone else is going to have to deal with later?

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

Lindsey: The security industry is ripe for disruption and change, driven mostly by advancements in and consolidation of technology. Everyone in the value chain is going to be affected, from end-users to system integrators to service providers to technology providers/manufacturers. It will dramatically impact everyone.

Embrace change and look for opportunities that open up. Stay close to new technology announcements and technology providers. Don’t underestimate how a new technology will be adopted and entirely change the way security is executed.

Don’t be so stuck on the ways things have always been done, the revenue streams you’ve been so reliant on, the technology providers/manufacturers you’ve always done business with, the knowledge and understanding you’ve developed over time — and become blind to how the industry shifts right under your feet.

Exciting times for sure!

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?

Lindsey: Read Hayes of the Loss Prevention Research Council. Although Read has primarily worked as a research scientist in the retail industry, his research and understanding of how a criminal thinks is relevant to all industries and security use cases. Read and his team take that learning a step further by also researching how various technologies and their implementations can influence behavior change in criminals.