I’m rarely happy. If you don’t believe me, just ask my wife. I’m grumpy. I rarely smile. I find the worst in every person and the worst in every situation. If anyone tries to sell me something, I am constantly thinking of how they are trying to screw me over. “What’s the catch?” consumes my thoughts.
I have often believed throughout my Loss Prevention (LP) career that those in our profession with a similarly high level of cynicism were also the most successful. “Trust but verify,” has always been our mantra. No one ever came to meet with me and left fully trusted. They always had an angle – at least that’s what I thought. But can you blame me?
In my career I have investigated and prosecuted a few of my own LP employees stealing. I have investigated C-suite executives for fraud. I have been betrayed many times by people who I once held in high esteem. I’m sure these experiences are familiar to many of you.
Fast forward a decade and not much has changed. Despite removing my VPLP hat a decade ago, I still question my lawn service company to ensure they perform every task I pay them for. But why am I like this? Did the LP profession make me this cynical about humanity, or was cynicism prewired into my DNA causing me to be so untrusting – leading to an incredibly fruitful LP career?
This old chicken & egg conundrum can’t seem to be solved.
I’m curious what you think:
Were LP professionals born with a certain level of cynicism that led them to build successful careers within LP, or did the LP profession expose us to so many dishonest employees and shoplifters that it caused the cynicism to seep in and remain?
As for me, I think I was born this way.
Now stop reading this and get back to work! (You’re stealing time from your employer.)
If you disagree or feel cynicism is caused by something else, feel free to Change My Mind.
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David E. George, CFE, CFI is managing partner of Calibration Group, Inc. Previously, David served as vice president over Asset Protection for Dollar General Stores, a company with more than 20,000 stores in 48 states. While serving Dollar General, David was responsible for the Asset Protection field team, the Asset Protection corporate team, the Shrink Improvement team, and the Shrink Analytics team.
Prior to Dollar General, David held the vice president of Asset Protection position with Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., a regional chain based out of Matthews, NC. He served Harris Teeter for more than 14 years and has had previous loss prevention leadership roles with Kmart Supercenters.
For more information about Calibration Group, visit www.calibrationgroup.com.