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Graham Kee: The Mediator

To get the job done at a major seaport, Graham Kee convinces dozens of competing stakeholders that collaborating on security helps everyone succeed

More than 60 million tons of cargo stream in and out of the Port of Vancouver every yearoil, lumber, sugar, grain and containers full of everything from tennis shoes to tomatoes. With its mild weather, its stunning harbor protected by mountains and its close proximity to the U.S. border, the port is ideally situated, and it is the lifeblood of Vancouver's economy. Yet the port authority actually has little authority over its constituencies. It operates more like a landlord than a boss.

For Kee to accomplish much, he knew that he had to convince the port's stakeholders that security was in everyone's best interest. The first strategy he pursued as CSO was drawing together those he calls "people of influence." He set up a stakeholder committee of people through whom he could, hopefully, reach out and touch everyone within the port community. Representatives from law enforcement agencies, associations representing private companies, unions and governmenteveryone had a seat at the table. It's a Canadian version of the "public-private partnerships" brass ring that the U.S. government has been reaching for since 9/11.

As an example, Kee cites the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia, an international trade group. "If you look at the Chamber of Shipping, you have tugboat operators, you have agents, you have chandlers, you have training schoolsall of these different sectors in that one association," Kee says. "How am I ever going to make contact with all of them? So I just [include a representative of] one association; I call it a person of influence.' When I need something done, and they're in alignment, they say, Thanks for including me. I'll get the association behind it."

Some of the groups were leery of Kee's approach at first. "This is pretty much revolutionary in the industryto have people like longshoremen and police officers in the same room to talk about security," says Dave Loban, the director of contract security services for the port. "I don't know if this is being done anywhere else."

It took patience, good listening skills and just the passing of time to make it work. It also took some trial and error to find the right people to include. But even that, Kee insists, was pretty easy.

"I'd try to do something, and my phone would ring. They'd say, What do you think you're doing? That's a stupid idea." Here Kee pauses, then continues, sounding like a cook admitting that a recipe is deceptively simple. To the naysayer, he'd respond, "Oh, I never thought about it. Next time I have an idea, can I bounce it off of you?"