Contingency planning by executives help to further protect them on the road. They are designed to help minimize your risk of being a victim of violent crime.

In addition to following these preventative steps, you may want to consider planning for contingencies in case an unfortunate situation does occur.

In the Marines, we first create the plan of how we’d like our mission to go. But then, we’d create numerous contingency plans or “What if…” scenarios.

How would you respond to certain scenarios?

Scenario #1: You’re walking down a street (whether in your own country of internationally) and three menacing looking men start walking right toward you. One pulls out a gun and demands your wallet and passport.

What do you do…

Scenario #2: You’re in a taxi cab and the driver is going the wrong way. When you try to tell him to turn back or go another way, he ignores you and keeps driving away from where you want to go.

What do you do…

Scenario #3: You’re driving down the street and come across an odd looking ‘road block.’ It looks more menacing than official. Several men are standing there with, what appear to be, automatic weapons.

What do you do…

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When I was first introduced to contingency planning years ago, I thought it was a waste of time. It wouldn’t happen to me, the scenarios are just too far fetched.

However, on my first mission, and frequently in everyday life, things rarely go as planned.

Now I’m grateful I take the extra step of planning “what if…” scenarios to better prepare for other possibilities.

You can count on things rarely going as planned.

In addition to contingency planning, it’s a good idea to consider:

Two More Elements

After reading and considering the above strategies, you may be:

• Concerned by the possible risks to your safety.
• Wondering if you’re capable of responding appropriately if a situation ever occurred.
• Consider yourself a pacifist and don’t see violence against another as an option until now.

Regardless of whether you’re reluctant to enhance your self defense abilities, or if you’re gung-ho and ready to enroll in a program and buy every product you can find.  You need to consider two more elements to increase your effectiveness:

Creative Visualization:

This is the process of using your imagination to visualize certain situations and your desired responses to them.

• Imagine different scenarios…
• Imagine and ‘see’ how you respond to them…

Practice:

It’s been said that “practice makes perfect.” More accurately, practice makes permanent. Effective practice increases your likelihood of responding effectively under duress.

• You might practice
• You might imagine someone robbing you with a knife. How do you respond?

The process of Executive Protection starts before you may need it and involves a lot more than bodyguards and shoot outs. Effective protection involves anticipating as many ‘possible’ scenarios and planning appropriately for them.