A modern-day philosopher once said about change: “That’s just the way it is. Things’ll never be the same.” Though the rest of the song is a little bleak, I think things never being the same is a good thing. Who wants the status quo? No thanks. Choose your attitude.
Layoffs, new jobs, and leadership change. AI, tech, and customer behavior. Business models, laws, and policies. The economy. We can choose to freak out about every change, or we can simmer down and look at it as a time to reset, rethink, and progress.
In addition to the world around us, we are continually changing. We can freeze up and panic or we can choose to craft, mold, and point that change in the direction we want to go. A few clichés are part of my credo: We are not victims; we hold the keys to our destiny. Hope is not a plan. Failure to plan is planning to fail. How in the world do I plan for change, you may ask? It starts with educating yourself—so dig into our Winter 2025 issue.
After checking out our fabulous new cover look, in this issue of LP Magazine, you’ll find several articles to help you understand and deal with change. Hear from LP leaders about what they are seeing going on in the retail industry and how it’s affecting LP in our cover story “The State of Loss Prevention.” Courtney Wolfe, our managing editor, did a deep dive with a group of LP department executives to understand what’s changing, keeping them up at night, or perhaps giving them optimism.
In this issue, we feature articles on developing skillsets for various waypoints in your career. Maybe you’re concerned about layoffs or think you’re not paid enough; we have advice for you. Do you deal with solution providers and want to upskill your negotiation tactics? Check out Tom Meehan’s article. Wondering what’s coming next in fraud schemes? One word—pirates. Our friends at the LPRC write about changes to crime models. And, if you want to hear first-hand about growth and change, take a look at Dr. Leslie Allen’s article on achieving her PhD in criminal justice.
It’s amazing how this magazine comes together. I want to thank all our contributors—we couldn’t do this without your continued support and expertise. Whether you wrote an article or provided quotes and background, you are appreciated. If you are interested in being published in LPM, reach out to us at Editor@LossPreventionMedia.com. Keep an eye out for more changes to our print and digital formats throughout the year.