Not only does arrogance engender security violations; it also opens people and their organizations up to criminal activity. People begin to think that they are above the law. Hotelier Leona Helmsley was notoriously quoted as saying, 'Only poor people pay taxes.' The downfalls of various large corporations can be similarly attributed to the arrogance of their executives. In probably one of the most ironic twists in McKinney's case, Rep. Tom DeLay accused her of being arrogant. It can easily be argued that his own downfall was the result of his arrogance, and what is most ironic and telling about his comments is that arrogant people can decry arrogance in others and never see it in themselves.

The lack of insight on the part of arrogant people is the reason that organizations must ensure that security policies and procedures are followed. Arrogant people will continue to escalate their behaviors if they are not nipped in the bud. In McKinney's case, we are talking about ignoring, then physically assaulting a security officer protecting a highly prized terrorist target. More frequently, arrogant employees take your information and put it at risk, as Deutsch did. Either way, there's one thing to be said for these people: It's easy to detect when you've got one aboard when an organization follows its own security procedures. Making it clear to the arrogant that policies apply to them -- whether they're top executives or legislators with new hairstyles -- won't be easy, but it's crucial to your program's success.