In Depth

Interview with Gavin de Becker

Called the Slowest Pulse in Hollywood, Gavin de Becker has a cool style of executive and celebrity protection that has gained him the trust of Hollywood stars, CEOs and even U.S. presidents.

By Sarah D. Scalet

Might someone misinterpret that as arrogance?

Confidence and arrogance are often confused. I don't think you seem arrogant unless you behave in a way that imparts arrogance.

That's the key. Each of my colleagues in security has the responsibility to be his or her own corporationhis or her own CEO, marketing division, financial division and service-providing division. The marketing component is one where people are often shy. You need to put your head above the crowd and say, "Hey, I'm the best person for this job. You made a really good choice by inviting me to comment on this, because you may not be aware that I served five years in the Coast Guard, and so I have a lot to say about maritime security." Or, "When I was with the FBI, I used to advise the airlines on profiling, and so I have some insights that I am enthusiastic about offering." If I got that from a member of my firm, I would be nothing but pleased. I would feel that my decision was a wise one inviting that person to that meeting.

OK. So back to your four C's.

The third one is communication—which invests in people the knowledge that you care about them. I have a policy in my company to always call clients before they call us, even if we don't yet have the information they're waiting for. I look for excuses to call my clients, whereas most people look for ways to avoid taking calls because we don't yet have the "answer." If I meet with someone, let's say they had a threat problem, later I'll force myself to call them and ask one follow-up question at least. I used to wonder if it was a manipulation on my part. But what I learned is that every time I tasked my mind to come up with a question, it had value. If I called the client back at 7 o'clock at night and said I'd just been thinking about their case (which is true, I had been thinking about their case) and I had an additional question, that area of inquiry would invariably lead me to important information. At the same time, it demonstrates clearly that I care about this matter—that it's not just another case to me.

Because they see that you're thinking about it after hours.

Right. Another thing to always do after a meeting is say to people, "Is there a number I can reach you at after hours, because we may want to call you." That's music to someone's ears when they're afraid. It's a gift when they're afraid. One of the worst things you can do is not return someone's calls, because no matter how great your work has been, failing to return a call absolutely invalidates the work.