Happy Independence Day for all my readers in the US, and, as you may know, I too am an American. So, despite what’s currently happening in my country, I still believe in the principles on which it was established.
And one of those key principles is freedom.
Now, I’m not going to wax political here—I’ll save that for Twitter. But I think this is an important aspect to one of the themes I’ve been vamping on all week:
Our job as “security” – whatever it’s called, and whomever we report to – isn’t about us. It’s about our customers. Those customers are the business people who toil away every day trying to accomplish something we don’t often understand, nor do we sometimes give them enough credit for thinking its pursuit is even warranted.
Most of us are pretty risk averse. Let’s face it, if we weren’t, we wouldn’t really be security people with the reputation of stopping all the “fun and games” of the business now would we?
And fundamentally, I’ve come to understand that’s one of the reasons we sometimes find it so hard to understand what the business is trying to do, and actually, even what the definition of our role should be.
But on this day that celebrates the independence of the United States from Britain all those years ago, I think it’s worth thinking about what we really give to the business if we’re doing our job correctly.
And that “thing” we give them ultimately is freedom.
Now, I know most of the time I talk about the ultimate thing we can provide our customers is the confidence that we have things under control. That’s what gives us the budget we need and justifies our existence on a day-to-day basis.
But why does that confidence matter in the end?
It matters because it means – if we’re really doing what it takes to keep the organization safe – then those that we’re serving – our customers – have the ability to do whatever they need to do to accomplish their objectives.
And by doing our job, we give them the flexibility and freedom to accomplish those objectives in many different ways, of course within the legal and regulatory frameworks they should ethically be following.
Freedom for our business customers is knowing that when they come to us with some plan we think is the craziest thing we’ve ever heard, that they can be sure we’ve still got their back, and that we’re prepared to do all we can do from our side to allow them to succeed with the minimal amount of risk and the greatest level of certainty that their efforts will be successful.
So, I’ll ask you: as a security leader, do you believe your customers feel free to do whatever they need to do to accomplish their goals?
And if the answer is no, and you’re not really sure what to do, then maybe you could use some support. That support might come from your peers, or that support might come from something like our Effective Security Leadership Coaching program.
Now, if you’d like to get some focused, 1:1 help from me, then the coaching program might just be the right thing for you. Or it might not.
However, if it is, there’s only 2 more days left before the cheapest way to have that access and support to help YOU have the confidence that you’re giving your customers the freedom and confidence they’re really asking you to give goes away forever.
So if you want to have a chat and find out if the program is right for you, then just scoot over to this link and book a call with me:
https://securityleadershipcoaching.com
Because at 11:59pm tomorrow, the 5th of July, the offer gets swept away like all the used paper plates, empty beer bottles and BBQ-covered napkins after the 4th of July festivities.
If you’ve been wondering, “I don’t know if it’s right for me,” or if you’re not sure that I know what the hell I’m talking about enough to support you upping your security leadership game, then the best way to find out is to have a conversation.
But don’t debate too long. While the link won’t disappear since it’s one of our core programs, the 40% discount rate certainly will.
Enjoy the fireworks…and don’t get run over by a tank rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue.
Cheers,
ast
—
Andrew S. Townley
Archistry Chief Executive
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Or…you can just keep reading the blog, or ignore me and Archistry all together. I’m good either way.
