Choose Wisely

Brand loyalty can be seen in nearly every aspect of our lives. From the vehicle you drive to the coffee you drink.

For me, I have very particular preferences in the vehicles I choose to spend my money on. I choose to drive a Toyota because I have experienced a long track record of rugged reliability. The brand has earned my loyalty over the course of many years of real-world experience and service. As long as I can afford to drive a Toyota 4X4, I will. Until the brand gives me a reason not to.

I choose to buy my coffee from the 4 Pines Coffee Company. I originally bought their coffee because it was a new business, started by a good man who works under my supervision. I continue to drink their coffee because they are delivering a genuinely superior product. I drink coffee from other companies when that is what is available, but I choose to spend my money with 4 Pines and will continue to do so until they give me a reason not to.

If I can spend my money and attention on a brand that supports my values and delivers on their promises, that is what I’m going to do. While part of that decision is made from data gathered with personal experience, I also pay attention to the bigger picture. What is the brand doing in public? What are others experiences with them? In today’s day of influencers and AI, this is increasingly difficult to do. Paid influencers with slick production can put a positive spin on most anything, and it can sometimes be difficult to discern propaganda from genuine data.

When I started my career in law enforcement, I didn’t have a choice in the sidearm that I carried. One of the first things I did after getting hired by the agency was to arrange the purchase of a particular Austrian sidearm. I carried that gun for 4 years and shot as much ammo as I could afford. Since shooting was a high priority in my life, that turned out to be quite a bit of ammo! That gun never gave me any trouble. It was more accurate than I was, and was the pinnacle of reliability.

I was able to take that gun with me when I moved to a new agency, but was issued a new sidearm from a well-known American/Swiss brand. This pistol was new to me, but the company was not. Their guns were trusted by countless law enforcement professionals, shooting professionals and even the Navy Seals. While I didn’t have much in the way of personal experience with the gun or the brand at the time, I was confident in what I carried based on the experiences of others.

Over the course of the next 18 years, I carried some form of that weapon. I shot thousands upon thousands of rounds through them and trusted my life to them in some pretty scary situations. I attended training with the company that made them for many years and was completely satisfied with them.

After 18 years, I was put in the position to be a major deciding factor in the choice of our new sidearm. My choice was to adopt a new platform developed by the company who had given me a quality product, support and training over the course of nearly 2 decades. I had carried some form of that platform over the course of the last 9 years.

Shortly after adopting the platform, an issue came to light and the company acknowledged and fixed it very quickly and I continued to use it with full confidence. During that time, no issues were experienced and the company continued to provide good support and service.

When some safety issues began to be made public, we investigated them to the very best of our ability. We had long, in-person conversations with company representatives and felt confident in continuing to use the product. 

Since that time, the number and severity of safety issues (real or imagined) has exploded. Trying to parse through all of that information to get a realistic picture of what is actually occurring has been nearly impossible, especially when trying to sort through propaganda and financial interests.

We live in a world where access to information has never been easier. The bulk of human knowledge can be accessed instantly with even the cheapest of smartphones. Unfortunately, much of this information is increasingly more difficult to verify due to the influence of money, bad actors and people and organizations with an interest in a particular narrative.

We all have our brand loyalties for one reason or another. The choices we make when deciding which coffee to drink or which football team to root for comes with different consequences than choosing a firearm for defensive or professional use, and where to go to get your training.

There are a lot of firearms manufacturers vying for your business. Many of them are outstanding, some, not so much. All of these companies make mistakes from time to time. How they respond to those mistakes should help inform your decision-making process. The same can be said for firearms training companies. While there are many companies that provide an exciting, slick presence on YouTube and social media, you must do your best to sort through the nonsense to make a good decision. Not everything that glitters is gold.

The fact that you are reading this tells me that you are aware of Lodestone Training and Consulting and what we stand for and have to offer. If you want to join a cult of internet personality, you should probably look elsewhere. If you want training based on principles gleaned from decades of real-world experience on the battlefield, on the streets of our cities and in the world of competition, check out our course schedule. What we have to offer is unique, tested and proven. You will not find better training anywhere.

As for me, It’s time to stop typing, grab my gun belt and an old Austrian friend so that we can get reacquainted. It’s time to return to my roots.

 — Mike