My daughter is 2-ish, and she loves to sing. In fact she and her brother both spend a lot of the time, walking around, or riding in the car, or just sitting, singing away with whatever song comes into their heads. It’s pretty cool (and they’re great singers).
My daughter’s current favorites are “Rain, Rain, Go Away” and “3 Little Kittens.”
Now, if you don’t know the story of the 3 Little Kittens, it’s a pretty sad tale. You see there’s these three little kittens, and they’ve gone out to play. While they’re outside, they’ve lost their mittens, and Mommy Cat isn’t very happy about this so they don’t get any pie.
And they cry, and they cry, and they cry, because…well, it’s pie we’re talking about here. Who doesn’t like pie?
Some time later, the little tykes have found their mittens, and guess what?
Pie!
Of course, they get them dirty in the process and the song goes on, but that’s enough to set the stage.
So in our twisted, cybersecurity, Bizarro world, those little cats are trying to figure out how to make sure that they’re focused on the right things, and how to get the “pie” deserved of an effective security program. The respect, trust and support of the rest of the business who sees them as an advisor, and enabler, and understands and supports the funding that’s necessary – not excessive – in keeping the organization safe.
So these little security cats have the right idea, but somehow…in their running around chasing all those mice…all those things that are really trivial and unimportant, they can’t figure out why suddenly, out of the woodwork, jumps this big tiger.
It’s big, and covered in stripes, and it sounds just a little bit like Idris Elba for some reason I can’t quite remember.
And that tiger chases them all the way back home, and they come in and Mommy Cat says, I’m sorry little security cats, you can’t have any budget, because I really just don’t have a clue how you’re helping me achieve my objectives.
And so, the little security cats begin to cry…and cry…and cry.
There’s no pie today, so they might as well go outside and try and find a way to get that pie.
Eventually, they go up, over, down and around the whole neighborhood. And suddenly, they see it: the key that will help them get the pie.
And not only that, but there’s one for each of them!
There’s three little security cats, and there’s three Baseline Perspectives in The Agile Security System™. Funny how that works out, really….
But those 3 Baseline Perspectives are the key to the pie, because when they looked at them, those little security cats could figure out exactly how their world in security related to the world of their customers. All they had to do was follow the lines, and ask the right questions.
Thrilled to death, and really, really hungry at this stage, our 3 little security cats ran home to Mommy Cat, each clutching one of the perspectives in their little paws.
When they got there, they proudly showed them to Mommy Cat and started asking all kinds of really great questions. In fact, Mommy Cat was soooooo impressed with how well the little security kittens understood what she was trying to do, she gave them all the pie they could eat.
And instead of sad little cries of “meow, meow, meow.”
All that could be heard was the “purr, purr, purr” of 3 little security cats with very full tummies and the confidence to know when to spit and scratch and when to stay curled in the sun.
The End.
Can you ask great questions? Will you get the pie?
Or will you end up wandering outside until it gets dark, starts raining and your belly starts rumbling?
To learn how the Baseline Perspectives of The Agile Security System™ help you ask great questions to get the trust, respect and support of your customers – and the Finance department – then scat on over to this link and subscribe to the Security Sanity™ print newsletter so you’re sure to get some pie this September:
Stay safe,
ast
—
Andrew S. Townley
Archistry Chief Executive
