We keep the Best Advice Q&A series going today with Taylor Sears, chief operating officer at Silent Guard. He shares the best advice he’s ever gotten, offers tips to help young security industry pros and names the people to whom all others in the sector should listen at all times.
Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Taylor Sears: My dad always says, “Be a good teammate.” Be a good teammate to your family, your coworkers, your customers, and your community. If you show up that way in all those areas, success tends to follow, no matter how you measure it.
SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?
Sears: Commit to learning and getting better every single day and be intentional about it. Look for opportunities to surround yourself with people who are smarter, wiser, and more experienced than you. That applies to the friends you keep, the people you hire, the vendors you partner with, and the industry groups you engage in.
There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. One of the best parts of this industry is how many people are willing to share their experiences so that all of us get better. Take advantage of that.
All ships rise with the tide.
SSI: If you could point to one person in the security industry and tell up-and-comers, whom would you pick and why?
Sears: It’s hard to pick just one, so I’m going to give you two.
First, Jake Voll. This industry is constantly evolving and Jake has his finger on the pulse as much as anyone. As a distributor, his job is to understand which products and solutions integrators should be bringing to customers. I pay close attention to what he’s selling and promoting because it often signals where we should be putting effort and resources in our own business.
On top of that, Jake obsesses over customer service, and his team delivers. We talk a lot internally about offering “unreasonable hospitality” and Jake/SS&SI is one of the best examples I’ve seen of that in action.
Second, Steve Trundle. Steve is the CEO and president of Alarm.com and his company is often the one shaping the market. Any time I’ve been around Steve, I’ve been struck by his refusal to settle and his commitment to pushing the cutting edge, building or acquiring technologies that make the end user’s life better.
More often than not, anything Steve and the team at Alarm.com touch turns to gold. It’s usually a safe bet to follow their lead and pay attention to what they’re building and bringing to market
Click here to check out the entire Best Advice series!
