Spotlight on: Center for Aggression Management

The Center For Aggression Management

The Center For Aggression Management was founded in 1993 by Dr. John D. Byrnes

The Center for Aggression Management, founded by Dr. John D. Byrnes, is a VA certified Veteran Owned Small Business committed to curbing aggressive behaviors. Since 1993, they have developed scientifically-backed systems, such as the Critical Aggression Prevention System (CAPS), to mitigate bullying, harassment, and violence in workplaces, schools, and campuses. Utilizing advanced tools like the CAPS Mobile App, they provide comprehensive aggression management solutions. Institutions worldwide trust their expertise to ensure safer environments for all.

Learn more about The Center for Aggression Management, Inc. by visiting their website at www.aggressionmanagement.com

About the Business - Combatting Aggression with Expertise

What services do you provide?

"The Center helps organizations and institutions prevent sexual harassment, abuse, bullying, discrimination, as well as preventing assaultive and violent behavior with scientific reliability and without violating privacy regulations. Using our Critical Aggression Prevention System (CAPS), we are also able to enter the emerging field of cybersecurity where we can identify an insider (someone who has authorized access) but is transitioning from worthy-of-trust to treachery."

Who are your primary customers?

"Although all employers with 50 employees or more are potential clients for CAPS; there is a special need among hospitals and healthcare because of workplace violence “prevention” requirements by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). We are the only vendor able to provide scientifically validated evidence-based results that can demonstrate to CMS that hospitals and healthcare facilities are “as safe as possible” the highest form of evidence-based Best Practices."

When and how did you start your business?

"In 1993, Dr. Byrnes formed the Center for Aggression Management, Inc. in Orlando, Fla., to train organizations and individuals to use aggression management techniques to recognize aggressive behavior and to prevent violence by managing aggressive behavior.

Although we have been training many of the Fortune 500 companies in CAPS methods over the past 29 years, over the past five years we have built the technology to fully scale ourselves to address aggressive behavior regardless of a company’s size or diversities. CAPS Mobile App, CAPS Dashboards, and CAPS Learning Management System (online courses) provide full capabilities regardless of an employer’s need.

We are very excited to announce that we have acquired our first significant post-technology, post-COVID client that is using all of our capabilities. This is the largest hospital system in the State of New York with over 80,000 employees."

Business Growth Challenges - Growing Through Challenge and Change

What were some of the challenges in starting your business?

"Most every revolutionary idea from the time of Socrates to the present day has had to fight the uphill battle to convince decision makers to step out of their proverbial boxes and accept unique and truly innovative ideas. This has been my greatest challenge.

Let me offer an example: Employers believe that Conflict Resolution prevents conflict, but in reality, it only reacts to conflict. Because there are humans who will express their conflict with violence, if employers genuinely want to prevent violence, they must first get out in front of conflict, and Conflict Resolution does not accomplish this important task. Our Critical Aggression Prevention System (CAPS) does.

Consider that employers do not yet realize that sexual harassment, abuse, bullying, discrimination as well as assaultive and violent behavior all are reactionary, not preventative. Current programs are punitive in nature. They are designed to identify an offender and punish that offender, meanwhile costing employers significant amounts of money.

Our CAPS is designed to identify the pre-incident precursors to conflict, sexual harassment, abuse, bullying, discrimination as well as assaultive and violent behavior. CAPS is rehabilitative, not punitive.

Further, CAPS does not use culture, gender, education, age, sexual orientation, or religion, thus it does not violate FERPA Regulations on school campuses, nor the Civil Rights Act of 1964. CAPS does not use mental health assessments, thus is does not violate HIPAA regulations in hospitals and healthcare facilities. And the human-based pre-incident precursors used by CAPS has been scientifically validated as reliable at Eastern Kentucky University.

There is no other system that achieves all that CAPS achieves, period!"

What is the key to the success of your business?

"There is no other system that achieves all that CAPS achieves, period! Because of our challenges stated above, it is from the lessons learned in the military: You are on a mission, and you are committed. It is persistence, tenacity, and commitment to this mission. I realize that this mission is greater than myself. It is humanity that desperately needs these critical skills."

What lessons learned can you share with people to make their business succeed?

"I started in 1993 with this revelation. I have always believed that only when you can measure something, can you truly manage that something. I searched for and found those measures and begin building the foundations principals of our Critical Aggression Prevention System (CAPS). I then realized that I needed to get CAPS scientifically validated, but first I needed a platform where we could record and track our aggressive behavior. In 2013 Eastern Kentucky University scientifically validated CAPS pre-incident precursors as “scientifically reliable.” Shortly after I began a journey to develop and build the CAPS Mobile App, the CAPS Dashboard, and the CAPS Learning Management System (online courses). Today, all are built and are now being implemented in the largest hospital system in the State of New York."

What pitfalls should they avoid?

"Don't see "no" as a wall, but as steppingstones to success. My father was a Navy Captain, and, in his office, there was a poster of a young army soldier who was on a mission but was hit by shrapnel. He was knocked to the ground, but in this poster, he refused to remain on the ground. He was up on one knee and using his rifle, he stood up on both feet so that he could continue his mission forward to engage and win against the enemy. This poster had a profound effect on me. I see that image when I become discouraged and want to pause or stop."

What other information about you and your business would you like to share with the NaVOBA Community?

"Sometimes, our purpose in life is greater than ourselves. The greatest achievement any human can accomplish is self-actualization. Identify your purpose and mission in life and becoming your own greatest advocate."

Service information

Branch:

Proud Navy Veteran on the First Nuclear Powered Submarine (USS Nautilus SSN-571)

Service Years:

1966-1972

Highest Rank Attained:

E-3 Yeoman

Why did you join the military?

"I have the military in my DNA. For six years I attended Greenbrier Military School for the expressed purpose of attending the Naval Academy like my father, two uncles and a cousin. I decide in my senior year not to follow this path, but to do my duty as an enlisted man in the reserves and get on with my life.

Also, I came from a long line of military men. From ancestors who fought as Patriots during the Revolutionary War and signed the Declaration of Independence. Through the many wars fought for our freedoms to include Union Capt. William J. Byrnes who fought at Gettysburg, and my father who commanded a submarine during the final years of the World War II."

Military Occupation:

"During my active duty, I was the Yeoman on the USS Nautilus SSN-571. We were refilling our fuel rods under the watchful eyes of Admiral Rickover."

Any significant military achievements / experience you would like to mention?

"Being able to serve on the first nuclear power submarine was quite an achievement in itself."

Biography/Fun Facts

• Byrnes was selected by the US Department of Labor to represent the United States at the Violence as a Workplace Risk Conference held in Montreal, Canada. This conference is a joint effort by the United States, Canada and Mexico through the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), the NAFTA labor side agreement.
  

• Byrnes authored the NaBITA Threat Assessment Tool, now being use by Behavior Intervention Teams in over 177 college and university campuses to assess the risk of violence. Byrnes developed the Critical Aggression Prevention System (CAPS), which now allows employers to achieve the highest form of Evidence-based Best Practices.

• Byrnes has conducted seminars and workshops for some of our country’s largest corporations, organizations and schools: United States Post Service, NASA; Disney Development Company, Florida Hospitals. Byrnes was a founding member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Entrepreneurship at Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College, Winter Park FL. He received an honorary doctorate of humanities (D.Hum.) in 2000 for his discovery and development of Aggression Management. Byrnes is a Fellow of the American College for Healthcare Trustees (FACHT).

• Byrnes authored "Before Conflict, Preventing Aggressive Behavior," published by Scarecrow Education Press and he has been interviewed by or published articles for the Wall Street Journal; USA Today (Campus Aggression Prevention System (CAPS) is featured in USA Today), to mention a few.