"If the past few years have shown us anything, it is that we must be flexible and ready to adapt to any challenges we are faced with."
Dan Manning has been working with USPA since 2011, directing the physical security systems at our largest client in New York. In June 2021, he became the Vice President of Operations and, in November 2021, was promoted to CEO.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Dan Manning: USPA has been operating for almost 20 years all over the world. We are a full service security firm, offering physical security solutions for a wide range of clients. We offer basic unarmed, uniformed security guard service all the way up to our Titanium service which provides a concierge style security service for high net worth individuals. USPA also operates a charity called Kingsman, which provides close protection and relocation services to women and children who have been victims of human trafficking.
I have worked with USPA since 2011, directing the physical security systems at our largest client in New York. In June 2021 I became the Vice President of Operations and in November 2021 was promoted to CEO. Since November 2021, USPA has seen record growth and the implementation of many new initiatives, including starting the journey to become one of the only security firms to become completely fossil-fuel free.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Dan Manning: The greatest business achievement of the last year has been doubling our gross annual revenue. This is not our greatest achievement because of any personal financial success it may have brought; it is a major success because USPA donates half of our profits to our charity, Kingsman. Through Kingsman, USPA was able to locate and reunite numbers of missing persons with their loved ones. There is no price that can be put on happiness and joy experienced through these reunions.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, are an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle keeping talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are adapting to the current shift we see?
Dan Manning: I think its exactly that, that employees want to be heard and valued. In today’s society the qualifications to be hired for entry level to mid level positions are so high that when a recruit is finally hired and makes it through the rigorous onboarding processes, they have the belief (and rightfully so) that they were hired because of their background and skillset. They are positioned as a subject matter expert for the field in which they were hired and when they are not treated as such by higher level managers, they become disenfranchised.
We have all heard someone say “we do it that way because that’s the way it has always been done”. That can be extremely difficult for newer or younger employees to hear because it devalues them and their experience from the start. I think what keeps employees happy is letting them do what they brought in to do, or trained to do. Let them work through their problems and find solutions. Everyone wants a purpose, why would we keep them from that?
Here is a two fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
Dan Manning: The book that has influenced me the most is “The Men, The Mission, and Me” by Peter Blaber, a US Special Operations commander during the war in Afghanistan. Blaber speaks to the idea of always putting your men (or employees) first, followed by your team goals, and then yourself. I found this incredibly useful because it follows the principal of putting value back in to your employees.
When your employees feel valued they are much more likely to produce positive results for the company. Trusting the people you have working for you is paramount to being successful. I have gifted that same book a number of times because I believe the lessons in it are invaluable.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Dan Manning: I believe the real challenge now is creating a product line that is necessary and innovative. Creating these products will directly lead to company growth, which will in turn sustain employee retention.
USPA has capitalized on this by adding a number of new products to our catalogue, such as our Titanium Service, which is a concierge style security service which allows high net worth individuals to utilize security services that are on par with the other services in their lives, as well as our new business intelligence products, which help provide invaluable insight to prospective business owners, customers, or buyers. Creating these products has helped USPA cultivate and maintain exceptional talent and keep that talent busy.
2020, 2021, 2022 threw a lot of curve balls into businesses on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past years, how can businesses thrive in 2023? What lessons have you learned and what advice would you share?
Dan Manning: Flexibility. If the past few years have shown us anything, it is that we must be flexible and ready to adapt to any challenges we are faced with. We have learned that our clients are becoming more and more environmentally aware and thus we became one of, if not the first, security firm to be certified platinum by the Green Business Bureau. We are transitioning our fleet to all electric vehicles, as well as implementing autonomous drone technology, in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint.
What does “success” in the year to come mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Dan Manning: Success in the year to come means to me that USPA will have donated well over 50% of our profits to our charitable division, Kingsman, a mark that we came close to in 2022. These donations directly fund missing person investigations as well as human trafficking rescue operations. USPA and Kingsman closed out 2022 by successfully locating a missing woman in Sacramento, Aires Hammock. We hope to carry this through 2023.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Dan Manning for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Dan Manning or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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