ESX Leadership Profile: John Lombardi

John Lombardi, president of Fishkill, NY-based CIA Security, has a famous quote known throughout the industry. It’s a response to business owners who waver at properly educating and training their employees – worrying that they’ll invest in team members and then they’ll leave the company.

Lombardi’s response: “The real question is, what happens if I don’t train my team and they stay?”

It’s an accurate and compelling statement. Education should never be overlooked, and if you’re looking to grow your business, it’s something you absolutely need to invest in.

"The employer has to recognize life is becoming too sophisticated -- you need to invest in your employees," says Lombardi.

Lombardi, who started in the alarm industry in 1968 as an apprentice, has seen a number of major transformations over the year, from the advent of the digital communicator to the current demise of the POTS line. The trend of IP-based technology, says Lombardi, “opens up an endless number of possibilities.”

“I see the intelligent device on the horizon,” he says, like it has happened in the fire arena.

To keep up with all of technology’s changes, security integration and monitoring companies need to focus on education. In New York, for example, Lombardi says the state is exploring an apprenticeship program because they need to find where the next generation of technicians is coming from.

“The industry is becoming too sophisticated for father-son training,” he says.

The industry needs to understand that education affects everybody, says Lombardi, and at ESX, you're seeing how someone can get exposed to different business opportunities, sales and marketing, and more.

From the exhibitor-offered training to the new peer-to-peer group sessions and roundtable, there are a number of highlights in the ESX Education program.

“All the speakers have risen through the ranks and know what works and doesn't work,” says Lombardi. "These are guys who have been through it -- listen to what they have to say and you'll pick up some good ideas."

Lombardi, who is participating in a number of sessions, including one on banking relationships, says he particularly enjoys the sessions where he can be exposed to things he wouldn’t normally learn about because he doesn’t use it regularly.

The banking session, “The Bank Factor” – which Lombardi will present with John Brady of TRG Associates, will allow him to show attendees how to deal with banks from the perspective of a security professional not used to dealing with banks.

At ESX, you can find Lombardi participating in these three seminars:

• Fire Up Your RMR!
• ROUNDTABLE: Benchmarks of a Successful Medium-Sized Integration Company
• The Bank Factor