Workplace Violence - Staying Focused on What's Important For Self Defense

In the realm of workplace violence and policy development, there is a problem that is both preventing companies and their employees from being safe, causing policy and procedures to miss the mark, and resulting in damage, financial loss, and even the loss of life.

What I mean is that, managers and administrators focus most of their time, either in denial about the problem of workplace violence or the possibility of it occurring in their business, or creating more policies related to prevention and reporting. Meanwhile, they are creating or, more to the point, "allowing" a gap to exist within their overall workplace violence and crisis management plan that leaves themselves, their employees, and the company, as a whole, completely unprepared for actual physical violence.

If you are to be able to escape from or survive an actual act of violence, you must first accept that violence exists AND can touch you. Living in denial or under the delusion that you are somehow invisible or impervious to danger - that you are the one exception in the whole human race that can't or won't be targeted by another irrational human being or other natural disaster will only leave you paralyzed in fear when something happens. This first phase of an overall 8-phase strategic formula for safety and self-protection that I teach my clients is called General Awareness.

In this phase, we consider not only the fact that danger exists, but what forms it could take and the types of attackers you could encounter. This information allows you to seek out exactly the types of self defense training, tactics, and techniques that would work to de-escalate, escape from or defend against an attack if and when it does come at you. Remember, violence is random. It can happen in any business, and at any time. And when it does, you are either prepared for it, or not.

But, I digress. The information that we gather in the "General Awareness" phase of our plan is absolutely useless in the moment of an attack. Because, in the moment when pure, unadulterated and uncivilized brutality is being thrown at you, the only thing that matters is quick, decisive, and pre-planned action. This is true in emergency situations where medical professionals are trying to save lives. It's true when a company has a crisis where massive amounts of money are being lost and the company's future is at stake. And, it's true when you are face-to-face with a violent aggressor trying to beat, break or kill you on the job!

This type of thinking - the "why is this happening?" and "why would this person do such a thing?" mentality, instead of taking action is not what's important during an attack. It reminds me of an old story about a warrior who was shot with an arrow. Before he would let anyone take the arrow out of him, he wanted to know the name and family of the archer who shot him, the type and materials the arrow was made of, the bird that the feathers came from, what poison it was tipped with, etc., before they could answer all of his questions - he died of his wounds.

Too much overthinking and not enough action based on knowledge and experience will do nothing to help you, and anyone that you're responsible for to escape from or survive a real workplace violence attack. And, let's also not forget that no amount of whining, blaming, or punishment for the attacker will take away the pain, loss, or fact that you just weren't prepared when you needed to be. That's why there are 8-phases to an effective plan or formula for developing the section missing from most workplace violence plans - the piece that deals with the operative word in your plan - violence!

If you don't have the knowledge and experience to put this critical, life-saving element into your existing plan and procedures (don't worry, most managers and administrators don't) then your first step is to find someone who does. And remember, you're not limited to choosing between gung-ho karate masters or ex-military commando types, nor the other extreme of the passive consultant with no experience at dealing with violence.

To be safe, you and your employees do not have to have a training program that will turn you into martial arts black belts. You also don't have to train for years to be proficient. There are programs and trainers out there who can give you the content you need, and within the context of your business needs. You can get the self defense training to be able to protect yourself during a workplace violence attack - training that is both easy to learn and effective, as-well-as being liability conscious and allows your managers and employees to convey professionalism and concern throughout the incident.

Do you want to learn more about the way I do it? I have just completed a brand new special report for surviving workplace violence attacks entitled, "Attack-Proof Your Facility"

Download it free here: Workplace Violence

What if you could add life-saving training that would allow you and your employees to easily and effectively de-escalate, escape from, or survive a workplace violence attack without the concern for liability issues, collateral damage, or financial loss to your business? How? By following this simple, proven system for workplace violence self defense success: http://www.wcinternational.com

Jeffrey Miller teaches individuals, organizations, and business owners the critical components necessary to not die or fall victim in a violent situation. Jeff says "If you have a serious desire to learn what you must know to be a survivor, I can teach you how to master the skills necessary to successfully defend yourself against any attacker, guaranteed" Mr. Miller also provides keynotes, seminars, workshops, teleseminars, and execu-camps(TM), and is an international speaker.

What Could You, Would You, Should You Do To Survive A Catastrophic Workplace Violence Situation?

There you are, minding your own business - doing your work, and then all you hear is the sound of screaming, crashing, and gunfire! At least you think it's gun fire. After all, you've only ever heard it in the movies before this very moment.

Question: What could you, should you, would you do, if this were happening to you right now?

Thank God it's not, right? I mean, after all, this is just a hypothetical question.

Right?

But, what if it wasn't?

What if, out of the blue... you know... when you least expect it...

...you find yourself inside hell and need to survive?

What then?

Here's another question: Can YOU, right now... do ANYTHING at all?


Do you have a plan of action?

A plan that you can follow as soon as something happens? Or, will you have to try to figure things out through all of the noise, screaming, and maybe even the sight of some of your friends falling dead and wounded around you?

Do you have the skills necessary for evading your attackers, avoiding or otherwise protecting yourself from incoming gunfire, a flailing knife blade, club or other weapon? Or, will you shrink and cower in fear, hoping that your pleas for mercy will be heeded by a crazy lunatic who only plans to kill himself when he's finished with everyone else?

I know how gruesome this sounds but, this is my job. My job is to be very clear about - to be willing to see, understand, and respond to the very things that most people don't want to even think about.

If you're like most managers and employees in the business world, your company has a workplace violence plan that is a shell - a "standardized" policy - which includes a statement of "zero-tolerance," a "banned-weapons" list, and a set of reporting procedures and punitive policies. Your company might even have gone so far as to have included training sessions on topics like interpersonal-communications, reporting abusive, harassing, or threatening actions, etc. Unfortunately, you might even work for a company who doesn't even have that much.

My job, and YOURS, is to make sure that you can survive when that policy fails. When, in the reality of the moment, your company's workplace violence policy is seen for what it really is:

A lot of ink on a stack of paper.

But, unless you've taken matters into your own hands already. Unless you're a black belt martial artist, former police or military professional, or been training in self-defense for a while, you're still not prepared to deal with the operative word in workplace violence. And that word is:

"VIOLENCE!"

The very random nature of violence means that you never know WHEN, HOW, or WHY violence will strike. Even highly paid, highly trained experts can't tell you that. And, if an assailant really wants to unleash hell where you happen to be, no amount of security, deterrence, or written policy is going to stop the act from occurring.

And, while the prevention and deterrence training taught by 98% of the workplace violence consultants out there is necessary and a good starting point. The only think that will allow you to actually survive a catastrophic workplace violence assault on your facility - on YOU... is a plan and the necessary training in the skills that work.

Once you have that training, you'll know what to say when someone asks you, "what would you, should you, or could you do?"

I know that the first thing to get cut during these stressful times is your company's training budget. I also know that the first thing to go up during these scary times is the level of anger, stress, and hostility. As we've seen just in the past few months, the amount of violence, and the number of catastrophic workplace violence attacks can't be ignored. They've also shown that no business, no facility, and no job is immune - regardless of where you are in the world.

If you'd like more information about getting the training you need to surviving an explosive incident in your business, call our international office in the US at (570) 988-2228.

Also, don't forget to download your free report, "Attack-Proof Your Facility", which is available on the main website at www.wcinternational.com

Teachers and Workplace Violence: Dealing With School-Age Psychopaths & Socio-Paths

by Jeffrey M. Miller, CEO
Warrior Concepts International, Inc.

Before you dismiss this post as having nothing to do with you because you're not a teacher, school administrator, or support employee, I suggest that you take the few minutes to read it and see where I'm coming from.

There have been several books, as well as countless reports that have come out of the research accumulated about the tragedies that have occurred at Columbine and several other schools. And, what these reports have concluded is that, what you and I were told about what caused the shootings to occur was, well, flat-out wrong.

If you missed the recent news story that appeared in USA Today, and ended up on many online news services, like Yahoo News, here's the link:

Columbine Myths

The information provided by these sources will go a long way in helping school officials, medical and psychological professionals, and members of law enforcement to understand why these things happen. And, that's a good thing.

However, there are several notable points that I keyed in on while reading through this material. As you know, my focus is on surviving these threats. I am all for prevention and deterrence because they provide for the least amount of damage, and wear-and-tear. But, let's take a look at two key points that should never be forgotten.

The first is that, the perpetrators of these acts were NOT normal people who "just snapped." What I mean is that, the attacks did not come out of the blue.

That's good news for the psychologists and advocates of prevention because it means that we can identify certain traits and characteristics of those prone to this kind of behavior. The problem is that, the assailants had a history of psychological disorders of the worst kind. They were geniuses as manipulating everyone's perceptions of them.

One of the boy's parents is even quoted as saying that they, "thought they had things under control."

So, while it is true that there are things that we can use to identify potential assailants, these people are also very good at convincing us that they're not a threat. All the while they are building their bombs, buying their ammunition, and planning their attacks.

In fact, that reminds me of something one of my teachers said to me once. He said, "somewhere, someone is training to hurt you. And, if you're not training - and you meet him - you will LOSE."

That's why I'm constantly advocated actual survival training, whether in the form of attack avoidance, assault evasion, self-defense, or escape tactics. Prevention is like having laws for everyone to follow. Deterrence is the presence of police on patrol to remind everyone of the consequences should they forget about the law. But, survival is what happens when you personally, and successfully defend yourself against an attack from someone with no regard for the law and there are no police around to stop them.

My clients recognize the fact that violence happens in an instant and long before the police have a chance to get there. They know that self-defense is not a choice, it's a responsibility. And, they have chosen to be personally responsible for their own safety, rather than abdicating that responsibility to others or the government - those who won't be there when the chaos is happening.

The second thing that caught my attention in the article was this: the point was made that, had the boys not acted out and perpetrated their attack at Columbine High School, that they wold have done it years later, once they were out of school and in a regular job. Then, it would have been a workplace violence incident.

The problem that I have with this is that...

..it was ALREADY a workplace violence incident.

Differentiating between "school violence," violent patients, and violence in a business is like splitting hairs over types of traffic accidents based on the type of vehicle or the type of road it occurred on. The truth is that, the incident occurs in a controlled environment, against victims and targets who are a part of that place. The school is the workplace for the teachers, professors, administrators, and other support personnel, but it is also the place where students do the "work" of learning. If both people must be there for six to eight hours a day, and it can be assumed that they will be there at a given time, then we are talking about the same type of incident. The same holds true for hospitals, churches, or any other organized, structured, activity or environment.

The point of all this is that, you can plan, research, and do everything in your power to try to prevent or deter these incidents, but they will still occur. And, when they do, I can assure you of one very important thing. And that thing is this:

"I don't care why it's happening." I also don't care:

"Who the assailant is or why they're doing what they are."

And, you shouldn't either.

Because, in the moment that a violent attack is taking place, there is only one thing that matters, and that is survival. Period.

If you would like to discuss how to make sure that your facility is as safe as possible, I invite you to call me at my international office in the US at (570) 988-2228. If yo haven't already done so, I highly suggest that you get my corporate report called, "Attack-Proof Your Facility." It will give you the critical information you need to prevent and survive a workplace violence attack.


Peace Happiness, & Safety,


Jeffrey M. Miller, SPS
(570) 988-2228