Elijah Shaw and the folks at ICON are putting on another set of training courses. Knowing that he designs these around his WORK schedule, I thought I’d take a moment to present a few facts. As a side note – someone who works in the industry runs a successful Protective Service business, teaching the skills needed to find employment – What a concept.
ICON Academy Celebrity & VIP Protection Course – Aug 1st -5, 2012
FACT: For years now and up to the present moment, Elijah works with celebrities, many of whom I’ve never heard of, (it’s an age thing) but their fans have.
FACT: Elijah works with VIP’s, remember what the initials stand for. Some of these Individuals I’ve met personally and because of their positions understand the true nature of protection services. They are educated consumers of protective services, they know what they need and I have witnessed that those needs are factored into the ICON curriculum.
ICON Academy Advanced Executive Protection Course – Aug 6th- 15th, 2012
FACT: Elijah is not teaching it out of a book or from memories of ancient history, Elijah and his guys frequently work all over the world. Elijah conducts Executive & VIP Protection operations throughout the globe, which is different than Private Military Contracting (PMC). A good portion of ICON’s work is overseas – there’s more to overseas work than PMC, which means there’s more to training than PMC training. VDI conducts six to eight overseas programs a year; we know the value of integrating those experiences into a training program. IF you want contemporary training those facts might help you in making your decisions.
Working the Convention
Here’s another fact you might not know: Elijah’s client base is assumed to be “Celebrities” because they are in the public area and he understands marketing. What you may not realize is, he also works with several Fortune 500 companies and other “Corporate” style clients. He did work associated with the 2008 Democratic & Republican Conventions, and as I understand it, will be playing a role in the upcoming ones this year. Most people train to work, so if you are going to learn from, or be associated with an organization, it might make sense to get to know individuals that do what they teach, and have the ability to put others in like positions.
It is for these FACTS that I will be doing a virtual classroom at the ICON program - Larry Snow will also be contributing to the classroom discussion via Google +.
For information on the instructor and his classes, visit Elijah Shaw’s website at
Mr. Scotti,
I am a recent graduate of the course and I absolutely agree. The ICON course in my opinion offers a very comprehensive and relevent course for anyone working or looking to work in the industry today.
In addition, I recently started reading one of your books, “Executive Safety And International Terrorism” which i think is a must read for anyone new to the industry and is a good refresher for the more experienced agent as well.
With the knowledge I have gained just from your book so far, I know the alumni of this round of courses will benefit greatly from the experience of having you as an instructor.
As a recent graduate of ICON’s training program I’d like to add another FACT to the list: The Personal Touch
Mr. Shaw remains in contact with his Alumni on a regular, sometimes daily basis. In addition, he has made it a point to make sure that the Alumni stay in touch with each other, not only for work, but to share ideas and knowledge. Getting a hold of any Alumnus is an easy phone call or email away. I’ve found that in a business that is sometimes “What can you do for me?”, Mr. Shaw has fostered an atmosphere of “What can we do for each other?”
Tony,
Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate that you see a side of both the training and the business of Protection, that me and my staff engage in, and took the time to share those comments. I’d imagine if that if it came from my mouth might sound like “hype”. Like many others in this industry, I have appreciated your contributions to the craft and look forward to having you speak to the August attendees.
Elijah
Bruce Lee stated, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” I have engaged in conversation with a number of people in this industry of protection and have found one profound fact; the people that have risen to the top of what they do are the ones that do it.
Tony has taken applied knowledge to become someone who has been described as the best in the business when it comes to driving and teaching us how to drive. Using applied knowledge in teaching is what Tony sees in Elijah, and like he, I know it works. What describes a good “teacher” to me, is the individual who is able to teach his/her lesson in a practical manner. The best of these individuals will be teaching you without anyone being the wiser; the teacher takes you along for the ride (pun intended) without you even knowing the knowledge that has been bestowed.
What a novel idea, to actually teach what you do! Too many people these days, in my opinion, offering the “theological method of instruction”, the text of how to provide protection may work for some, but the practical method of instruction will work for most. How do I know that Elijah has done it? Well like a Marine would say to another, “ we have chewed some of the same dirt.” I met Elijah at BET TV in early 2000; his client was one of my client’s for different services at the time. When I arrived at BET I immediately realized I was out of my realm, to not say I was nervous would be a lie. But I was put at ease through my interaction with Elijah and his partner, “Joey Guzman.” If you have done the “halls and walls gig” in your life you will know what I mean when I say, “Elijah and Joey were about as glassed eyed as you get.” Although they had been working weeks without relief he was as cordial as one could ask one to be. He did his job with out the hype and allowed me to do mine. This is something I recognize as being “professional.”
As Tony has accomplished himself, he has discovered in Elijah, once you have lived it long enough, you can teach it. I have seen firsthand Elijah’s work and now it is interesting watching him educating others with his practical experience.