Nigel Farage and me

How disruptive behaviour can be a very good thing…

Nobody can have missed Nigel Farage’s U turn.

Having announced he would definitely not stand for Parliament in this election, his dramatic U Turn dominated the headlines.

Not only did Farage masterfully court massive publicity for his campaign launch, but also, he became leader of the Reform Party. No election necessary… NO public debate. He just agreed with the outgoing leader that he would better serve the party as leader, and so the change was made.

Contrast Farage’s assent with the lengthy leadership elections conducted by the Tories. Internal party machinations that, whilst designed to be democratic, arguably will be a major contributing factor to costing them election victory if they lose.

To negotiate your own leadership and replace an incumbent whilst simultaneously doing a U turn on public statements would probably be game over for any other political career. But love or loathe him, Farage is a disruptor. One with a track record of achievement against the odds. And now the election is interesting again!

ASEL has itself been described as a disruptor in the risk management industry. Certainly, we were ahead of the curve in terms of melding guarding and technology to produce disruptive technology that delivered service levels 5 years ago that some security companies only now are starting to realise.

The term ‘disruptive technology’ was coined by professor Clayton Christensen in a 1995 Harvard Business Review article, identifying it as a strategy by which small start-ups could eventually displace major players by serving overlooked customers and their needs. Once these entrants move upmarket and gain mainstream adoption, established companies must adapt to compete.

By definition, disruptive technologies change the game. The term is reserved for breakthrough products, services and solutions that fundamentally change the way in which one or several industries operate; take, for example. how we can gather information on the internet instead of from libraries or newspapers, or how we can watch shows on streaming services rather than cable television.

If a product or service is enough to fundamentally change an industry for good, then it must be more than just a better mousetrap. Disruptive tech often involves automation, streamlined workflows, real-time capabilities and data-driven decision making, resulting in increased productivity and new markets.

Talking of “changing the game”, one of my favourite examples of disruption comes from my love of cricket… the English Cricket Board no less…

The ECB has been responsible for creating a whole new branch of the game. Women’s cricket is flourishing. I myself was delighted to follow the English Women’s Team on tour around New Zealand recently. Not only are women players professional, but they are also now entitled to the same rates of pay as their male counterparts in the Ashes.

This proliferation of the women’s game has led to increased participation from girls in cricket. And the revenues being developed have already begun to influence the senior levels. However, that money is yet to trickle down to grass roots level, although I have every confidence that it will.

The point is that the disruptive intervention of the EBC in creating the women’s game will fundamentally change the profile of who is playing the game of cricket around the world. A massive achievement, but one that illustrates an important point. Disruption is one thing, but you have to continually strive to assure that it is delivering benefits to all stakeholders on an ongoing basis if it is to truly be seen as successful.

Being disruptive continues to be an important strand of ASEL’s DNA.

Today our disruptive influence can be seen in the phenomenal progress we have made to create industry leading risk assessment, measurement and risk assurance.

Essentially, we make it simple for retailers to create a granular view of risk across their entire estate right down to store level. We capture a complex suite of data and then use AI to provide usable insights at store level.

For example, when you are open and when you are closed, and what are the implications of that? When are your busy times? We take a store’s demography – the post code – and look for proximity to local schools. What is the local level of unemployment? Is there a university or college nearby with students; 31% of Gen Z admit to shoplifting and student hi jink is linked with drunken incidents in store? What are the local issues with policing, terror and other threats?

From this data modelling we can produce useable recommendations and actions.

For example, when should you use static security or mobile, deploy keyholders or add temporary security – ideally all four will be utilised as appropriate. At times of peak risk to petty theft you may deploy an additional security guard. Has he been trained in conflict de-escalation and if not which course and by when before he is deployed. It can be as granular as that across thousands of stores.

And the assurance part of our business means that once the risk has been assessed and modelled then we continually work to make sure it is being dealt with in a way that is working. The trickle down of the disruptive technology that makes sure it is working consistently and not just a flash in the pan top level initiative that is not felt at grass roots level.

I can’t name names. However, the above disruptive technology and approach has resulted in ALL of our customers changing their security deployment criteria. Significant savings have been realised. Most of which customers have reinvested in higher pay, which creates a virtuous spiral of better service and even greater savings. Plus, a better service for all stakeholders.

Disruptive behaviour can sometimes be a very good thing…