We continue the Best Advice Q&A series with Susan Post, chief transformation officer at Pavion. She shares the best advice she’s ever heard, gives tips to security industry newcomers and celebrates the proverbial wind beneath her wings.
Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Susan Post: If you are invited to sit at the table, don’t allow others to make you feel intimidated for being there.
That advice has stayed with me throughout my career because it reframes how you show up in professional environments. Being “at the table” means you were selected for a reason: your experience, perspective and value are already recognized.
Early in my career, it was easy to second-guess whether I belonged in certain conversations, especially in high-stakes or executive settings. Over time, I learned that confidence is not about having all the answers but about contributing thoughtfully, asking the right questions and trusting that your perspective adds value.
The most effective leaders don’t dominate the conversation; they elevate it.
SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?
Post: Be well-rounded in technology, stay customer-focused and understand that the best long-term solutions are built in partnership with your clients.
Success in the security industry requires more than technical expertise alone. The landscape is constantly evolving—integrating physical security, cybersecurity, data and analytics—so professionals need to understand how these pieces work together. Just as important is maintaining a strong customer focus.
The most effective solutions are not “one-and-done” deployments; they are long-term partnerships that evolve with the customer’s needs. Those who succeed are the ones who listen first, design with intent and stay engaged well beyond installation to ensure the solution continues to deliver measurable value over time.
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?
Post: It’s less about a single individual and more about a role: field engineers. They are closest to the business, understand real-world challenges and see both the opportunities and constraints in ways others often don’t.
Field engineers can be among the most underutilized sources of insight in the industry. They provide some of the most practical and unfiltered perspective on what works in the real world. They sit at the point where design meets execution, seeing firsthand the challenges that emerge during installation, integration and ongoing service.
Because of that proximity to day-to-day system performance, they understand not only what was intended in the solution design but also how it behaves under real operating conditions.
For up-and-coming professionals, listening to field engineers helps ground decisions in reality and strengthens the ability to design and deliver solutions that are both innovative and reliable in practice.
Click here to check out all entries in SSI’s Best Advice series!
