Even though they’ve been around for decades, sales of security doors and turnstiles have increased markedly in the last several years. Some of the biggest companies on the planet are implementing them globally and tying them into their access control systems. Why now? What has changed?

You need to be as familiar with the company as the CEO is, before you even consider having any discussions with senior executives.

We need to change the conversation about corporate EP, whether we’re talking to clients or each other in the industry, by lifting it up to a higher level.

Along with the survey results, the company offered five leadership tips that can easily apply to enterprise security executives.

If you and your program are not viewed as adding value and assisting the business in executing its strategy, then you are relegated to a draw on overhead or worse yet a necessary evil. If you are viewed as the latter, it might be time to brush up your resume, as your days may be numbered.

Dave Aflalo has protected Presidents of the United States, nuclear power plants and CEOs. Over a 35-year career, his work has spanned the industry spectrum and has included senior leadership roles ensuring security and safety in both the public and private sectors.

“Retail is never boring, and that’s a good thing,” says Michael Case, Director of Loss Prevention for Art Van Furniture Inc., an American furniture retail store chain.

“Water is the most precious resource in the world. You can live without food for a while, you can live without electricity, you can live without transportation, you can live without internet (despite what my kids say), but you cannot live without clean water. And that’s what makes my position so challenging,” says Scott Starkey, Security Manager for Birmingham Water Works.

Security organizations both in the private and public sectors have made considerable progress in gaining stature. More and more senior security executives truly have a seat at the table today as a respected member of the C-suite. Many security executives regularly interface with the Board of Directors and maintain excellent relationships with board members. Security organizations still have a lot of room for improvement.

Not too long ago, security operations centers (SOCs) and the enterprise security executives and the staff who ran them were relegated to airless basement offices with little security equipment that did no more than monitor video and manage guards.