The Big Idea with Ron Davis
March, 2012

Let Your Actions Do the Talking

If you had just one really great idea you could share with the alarm industry, what would it be?

This month’s great idea comes from Gregory Torre, president of Electronic Security Corp. of America in Woodlyn, Pa.

Torre’s great idea: Do what you say you’re going to do, then do it!

Gregory Torre, president of Woodlyn, PA.-based Electronic Security Corp. of America, and I go back a long way. I recall him sitting in on some of the conferences I conducted back in the late 1970s and early ’80s. He was a tremendous student then, and looking back I guess I always knew he was destined to accomplish big things.

I crossed paths with Torre toward the end of January at the SedonaOffice Users Conference in Marco Island, FL. We sat down together for lunch, which provided me the opportunity to solicit his great idea.

I’ve had a few other people come up with a similar version of Torre’s contribution, but I’m not sure that anyone has ever combined that exact notion with the great success story equal to his. He operates a magnificent installing firm, as well as a wholesale monitoring company, and at an age when many people are considering retiring, Torre is still going the way he always has — all out! That is really the message his idea represents. By letting people know what you’re going to do, then doing it, you’ve established your credentials as a leader and someone who needs to be taken seriously. You are also establishing goals that your employees can see, understand and participate in.

I believe it was Earl Nightingale who once said, “The common denominator of success is doing the things that failures don’t like to do.” It may sound harsh, but it is essentially what Torre is referring to in his great idea. Failures don’t like to set goals. Failures don’t like to be held accountable. Failures don’t lead very well. Failures rarely have a business as successful as the one Torre has built. And it’s all wrapped around the idea of establishing a goal, telling others around you about that goal, and then working to achieve.

Leading by Example

Even though I’ve taken liberty to redefine Torre’s great idea, I believe when he reads this column he’ll be sitting with his head nodding in agreement that there is a deeper meaning to his initial recommendation.

The master of doing that exact same thing was Jim Covert, founder and CEO of several of the industry’s biggest success stories. Today, Tim Whall, CEO of Protection 1 and onetime protégé of Covert, has picked up the mantle and is doing the same thing for his company. In fact, you can see Torre’s principle in action at the top companies throughout the industry. The leaders of these companies didn’t simply happen to be in the right place at the right time; they set a goal, worked toward it and certainly weren’t surprised when they accomplished what they set out to do.

Mr. Torre, I don’t know if you realize the extent to how great your idea truly is. I venture to say that all of the great success stories in this industry, as well is in our society, apply the same rules to their lives. Hopefully, there are readers of this column who will take that message, apply it to their everyday lives, and join the ranks of truly successful individuals in this industry.

Ron Davis is a SSI Hall of Fame inductee and President of Davis Mergers and Acquisitions Group Inc. Also known as The Graybeards, the company is active in acquisitions and mergers exclusively in the alarm business.

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