Beyond Lockdown
Why Workplace Violence Prevention Requires a Real Standard
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A few months ago, I got a call that every organizational leader should pay attention to. It wasn’t about a lawsuit. It wasn’t about a cyber breach. It wasn’t about declining sales. It was about a near-miss. A man walked into a church during a holiday service. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up. Morning service. Full of parishioners. He wasn’t a regular.
One of my female clients was in attendance with her kids and felt it immediately: Something isn’t right.
The man began ripping pages out of a Bible. Muttering to himself. Agitated. Furtively looking about. She trusted her perception and intuition, and notified a security guard on site – he said he’d “keep an eye on him” And proceeded to stand in the lobby.
She watched him. As he rose and began moving down the main aisle, she saw something heavy weighing down his hoodie front pocket. She saw there were no available seats where he was headed – towards a group of kids, including hers. Her inner voice screamed at her to take action. Shefollowed him down the aisle, intending to stay close enough to act, should the unthinkable occur – with her friends and fellow church-goers sitting mere feet away. Her behavior spooked him, and he retreated. Eventually, police were called. He fled, but they caught up to him.
He had a gun in that hoodie.
That day did not end in tragedy. But it could have. It wasn’t “luck” that prevented something catastrophic. It was awareness. It was action. It was training. That incident perfectly illustrates something that applies just as much to businesses today as it does to schools or churches:
There is still no true “Code” for security the way there is for fire safety. Architects must follow fire code. ADA compliance is mandated. Structural integrity is regulated. But when it comes to violence prevention? There is no consistent standard. And that vacuum is dangerous.
The Myth of Randomness
For years, the public narrative around workplace violence, school shootings, and targeted attacks has been this:
“It came out of nowhere.”
“No one could have predicted it.”
“It was random.”
That mentality is as outdated as it is dangerous. As I wrote in “CEOs, This Is Your Wake-Up Call,” violence is not random. It follows a process. I call it T.I.M.E.:
T – Target Selection
I – Intelligence Gathering
M – Method of Attack
E – Escape / Exploitation
By the time someone reaches the M — the moment of attack — prevention is off the table. You are reacting. And the perpetrator has chosen the time, the place and the method of attack. The time to prevent violence exists— at the I of TIME. The assessing. The planning. The surveillance. The probing. The threats. The warning signs.
In the church incident, there were indicators – that no one thought were important - that emerged, as so often does, after the fact:
Prior suspicious behavior at the church days earlier
Strange vandalization of the parking lot caught on camera
Agitation during the service
Ripping pages from a Bible
Concealed weight in a coat pocket
Out of context dress, demeanor, and behavior
Escalating agitation when observed
None of that is “random.” It is observable behavior. The difference is whether anyone is trained to recognize it.
We live in a culture that loves to say, “If you see something, say something.” It’s printed on signs in airports, train stations, and public buildings across the country. But almost no one ever defines what that “something” actually is.
What does suspicious behavior look like? What are pre-incident indicators of violence? What crosses the line from “eccentric” to potentially dangerous?
In a church full of people — many of whom later admitted they felt something was off — only one person interpreted those signals through the lens of training and took action. The difference wasn’t personality. It wasn’t courage. It wasn’t instinct. It was clarity. It was knowing what to look for, and what to do about it. And that only comes from training.
The Legal Landscape Has Shifted
Ten years ago, juries tended to believe that mass violence was unpredictable. That is no longer the case. Today, after an incident, there will be questions. The first is always, “Who’s the attacker?”
That is what the media focuses on. Within hours, headlines begin dissecting motive:
What drove him?
Was he radicalized?
Was he mentally ill?
What ideology did he subscribe to?
This narrative subtly reinforces the idea that violence is aberrational, irrational — and therefore unpredictable. But in a courtroom, the questions are very different. They are not about motive. They are about responsibility.
“What did leadership know, and when did you know it?”
“What warning signs were ignored?”
“What steps did you take to protect your people?”
California recently became the first state to require formal workplace violence prevention policies. The guidance is rudimentary and somewhat vague — but the direction is clear.
More states will follow. And when litigation comes, the standard won’t be sympathy. It will be:
Did you take active measures to prevent foreseeable harm?
Did you have a realistic crisis response plan?
Did you train your staff?
Did you implement meaningful security measures?
If the answer is no — liability multiplies. Preparedness isn’t just moral leadership. It’s risk management.
The Four Non-Negotiables
For two decades, we’ve been advising organizations to focus on four foundational elements. These elements meet — and in most cases exceed — emerging regulatory standards.
1. Conduct a Vulnerability Assessment
You cannot fix what you haven’t evaluated. Security vulnerabilities are often simple:
Uncontrolled access points
Ineffective visitor protocols
A lack of threat awareness and reporting pathways
No framework for intervention or emergency response
Most organizations have blind spots. The assessment surfaces them.
2. Build a Real Crisis Response Plan
Not a dusty binder. Not a generic template. A plan that answers:
Who is in charge?
What – specifically - should staff do in a crisis?
How is information communicated?
What if communications fail?
What if law enforcement is delayed?
The time to build the plan is before you need it.
3. Train to the Plan
An email does not equal training. A slide deck does not equal training. A “Run, Hide, Fight” poster does not equal training. If your employees are under stress and adrenaline, they will not rise to the occasion. They will fall to the level of their training.
And that training must include:
Situational awareness
Threat indicator recognition
Emergency action and response protocols
Decision-making under pressure
In the church incident, the person who acted had previously received training. One session, years ago, and yet she explicitly said:
“If I hadn’t had the training, I don’t think I would have noticed the signs, let alone done anything about it.”
That is the power of preparation.
4. Implement Meaningful Security Measures
Security must be intentional. An unarmed guard who isn’t empowered or trained? Symbolic. A guard car outside a CEO’s house to protect against a threat? Expensive theater. Security must be aligned to risk, thoughtfully deployed, and tactically viable. Otherwise, it’s just a line item.
The Two Mindsets That Get Companies in Trouble
In my experience, organizations fail to act for two reasons:
1. “It Will Never Happen Here.”
This is denial disguised as optimism. The problem isn’t that bad things happen often. The problem is that when they do, they are catastrophic.
2. “What’s the ROI?”
Security is often viewed as a cost, not an investment. But here’s the real economic equation:
One incident can destroy your culture.
One incident can bankrupt your company.
One incident can define your legacy as a leader.
The economics of personal security are just as unequivocal. You either invest now or pay later. And interest compounds either way. Preparedness is not a sunk cost. It is investment in safety, culture, and confidence. This isn’t a new lesson. In fact, I’ve written before about the timeless reality that winter always comes — whether we choose to prepare or not.
Organizations are no different. Some gather in the summer. Others assume winter is someone else’s problem.
Security follows the same natural laws.
The Gift of a Near-Miss
That church incident is what we call a near-miss. Near-misses are gifts. They expose vulnerabilities without requiring tragedy. But only if leadership is willing to learn from them.
Too often, organizations downplay these events:
“Security handled it.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Let’s move on.”
That mindset guarantees the next near miss may not be a miss.
You Are Never Helpless
This is true for individuals. This is true for families. And it’s especially true for CEOs and business owners. Preparedness is not paranoia. It is disciplined readiness.
It is understanding that:
Violence follows patterns.
Warning signs exist.
Training changes outcomes.
Leadership sets the tone.
Beyond Lockdown. Beyond Check-the-Box.
If you are a CEO, business owner, school administrator, or organizational leader, ask yourself:
Have we assessed our vulnerabilities?
Do we have a real, adaptable crisis plan?
Have we hardened obvious weak points?
Are our people trained to recognize pre-incident indicators, and respond to emergencies?
Do we have internal threat assessment capability?
Have we rehearsed?
If the answer is no, then you don’t have a security strategy. You have hope. And hope is not a strategy.
Protect Your People. Protect Your Future.
Security is not just a cost. It is an investment in:
Leadership credibility
Organizational culture
Legal defensibility
Human life
It is time to move beyond lockdown. If you want to build a real, scalable, defensible infrastructure of preparedness for your organization, let’s start with an assessment and build from there.
Ready to Move Beyond Theory?
If this article resonated with you, the next step isn’t more reading — it’s training.
I’m hosting a FREE upcoming live session at my studio in Wexford, PA:
Safeguard: Workplace Violence Prevention & Crisis Response
This training is designed specifically for CEOs, HR leaders, managers, and organizational decision-makers who want to:
Understand their true duty of care
Recognize pre-incident indicators before they escalate
Build a real crisis response infrastructure
Protect their people, culture, and business
If you’re serious about moving beyond “lockdown” thinking and building a defensible, scalable approach to workplace safety, this is where you start.
Reserve your seat here.
Don’t wait for your wake-up call.
Live Ready.