Dear Colleague,
2025 is an incredible milestone in the journey of the Security Executive Council (SEC). It marks the 20th anniversary of the public launch in Huntington Beach California. The concept took 15 months of development prior to launch but that is a different story. The odds were against making it 20 years. About 90% of startups fail. Ten percent of startups fail within the first year. Failure is most common for startups during years two through five, with 70% falling into this category. To survive for 20 years in the security industry is nothing short of remarkable. To become the #1 Solution for Security Leaders around the world was never in the plan. But most of our accomplishments were not in the plan either.
We could never have imagined:
- A yearly average of 200 companies/practitioners engaging the SEC to advance their success with multiple contract options.
- A free monthly newsletter going to 35,000 security practitioners around the world, driven solely on content. No ads – no sponsors.
- A free public website resource with close to 500 available resources to date (articles, infographics, research reports, SEC published books and excerpts and legacy videos).
- The Business Intelligence and Innovation Laboratory (BI2 Lab).
- Partnerships and projects with three highly respected universities.
This is just a sample.
Please see our 2005-2025 timeline for more.
Our initial research identified security executives were underserved by the industry. Our early vision was a unique approach to serving this group that has been valued for 20 years. The concept was to let other organizations, consulting firms and vendors handle what we refer to as 3G Security - Gates, Guns & Guards. These are the most common and better understood areas of physical security and core security programs. Most regulations address these areas. Most business executives think of these things when they think of security. The largest portion of security budgets goes to 3G.
The SEC’s vision was not only based on researching what creates successful security programs and leaders (including their 3G programs) but also to identify and scale how security programs can add business value. The results of that research was the identification of 5 dimensions most frequently incorporated in a value-adding security program. We use the term 5D Security to represent five different success dimensions beyond 3G.
The SEC’s 5 Security Dimensions:
- A program foundation based on current research and alignment to the organization’s C4R (current conditions, circumstances, culture and resources).
- Incorporating a Holistic Security Risk Taxonomy and aligning mitigations to the risks.
- Selecting proven solution program elements from the Security Success Universe™
- Selecting the team using proven success factors identified in OPaL+ research.
- Measuring and Communicating Security’s Value.
Over our 20-year history, hundreds of projects, thousands of leader conversations, interactions, and challenges evolved our thought process and solutions. We have had the distinct honor to partner with some of the very best security people in the world. We have been invited into some of the best and most valued security programs to examine and document their journey and winning formulas. Security leaders have openly shared their knowledge to advance the industry. The proficiency we acquired is not the sum content of the SEC, but the collective effort of hundreds of like-minded professionals working to advance an industry they have invested their careers in.
It is always the people who make the difference. This is true about the security executives who have shared so openly. It is also true about
the SEC team who have invested the last 20 years into an improbable dream. The hard part of doing something that has never been done before is that nearly everyone assumes it cannot be done. It takes very special, talented, confident, transparent, team oriented, selfless, risk takers to accomplish the impossible. Somehow, the SEC has attracted those kinds of team members. From our founding thought leaders to our small but powerful staff – they are those kinds of people. Their dedication and tenacity shine through. Every core team member that helped start the SEC is still with us except sadly a few who have passed away. We could not have accomplished this, nor survived 20 years without them. My heartfelt admiration and thanks to them for making this happen.
We will cover more of the history and key success factors we have experienced in our
timeline on our website and celebrations throughout the year. Please follow our
newsletter and website for updates and insights. We are planning a few surprises and reveals on some significant works in progress. Thank you for your loyalty and support of our organization.
We wish you all the best,
Bob Hayes, Managing Director, SEC
