May 19, 2020
I had a couple of conversations over the last few of days that I’ve been turning over in my mind, and suddenly, to my surprise, some 1989 L.L. Cool J lyrics popped into my head. And yes, before the question forms on your lips, Walking with a Panther is in my music collection, thanks to more than a few nights spent hip-hoppin’ at Crackers a long, long time ago.
The chorus of the song isn’t terribly complex:
I’m goin’ back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I’m goin’ back to Cali…hmm, I don’t think so.
I’m goin’ back to Cali, Cali, Cali
I’m goin’ back to Cali…hmm, I don’t think so.
The question is, “Well, are you, or aren’t you?”
And that’s a question we’re often faced with ourselves, every day, about where we’re going with our jobs, our relationships, and…sometimes, even our lives in general.
Where are you going as a security professional?
What is it that you’re out to achieve…and do you have a timeline?
Or, are you feeling kinda stuck, just drifting along…from blog post to blog post, conference to conference and framework to framework…spending the majority of your time trying to keep up to date…to be marketable…to make a difference?
If that’s the case, maybe you, like Alice, are wondering which way to go from here?
As the Cat said, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
And if you don’t know…if you don’t have a crystal-clear picture in your mind as to what it is that you want to achieve, what you want to be, or, more simply, where you want to go, then it truly doesn’t matter which way you go.
You’ll always end up somewhere.
This fact is as true for an organization’s security program as it is for the individual members of your security team as it is for you yourself. It’s why any kind of vendor-supplied or externally-defined definition of what security actually means is irrelevant, and sometimes, it’s even downright dangerous.
So, actually, if your destination is “secure” and you don’t have a good, clear picture of what that means in terms of enabling and protecting your organization, it’s the last place you should be going.
And if your destination is to be a “security architect”, then it’s also kinda important to have a clear understanding of what that really entails, what kinds of things you’re supposed to produce, and how your job fits into the overall delivery of an effective, fully business-driven security program.
But if you don’t know what a security architect really is, independent from being a more experienced security engineer with more seniority who happened to need a different label to avoid blowing the whole pay scale banding with HR…
…it doesn’t really matter which way you go either.
It doesn’t matter which certifications you get.
It doesn’t matter what books you read.
It doesn’t matter what conferences you attend.
It doesn’t matter who you follow…or learn from.
And, ultimately, it doesn’t matter if each and every one of those sources paints a different – often conflicting – view of security architecture and what being a security architect really means.
However…
If you do understand the critical role of security architecture in being the strong, yet flexible backbone of the effective, business-driven security program which will build trust, confidence and respect in the eyes of your business customers…
…then it’s pretty clear the kinds of skills and the perspective you need to have in order to get there.
And helping people gain those insights, clearly define a direction and build the practical analytical thinking and “architecting” skills necessary to make that journey is precisely why I developed the structure and delivery model the way I did for our flagship Building Effective Security Architecture learning experience. More than an “online course” that you might never actually start…let alone complete, it’s an immersive experience combining learn-at-your-own pace materials with scheduled, structured exercises and feedback from me and the rest of the peers in your cohort so really understand how to put the theory into practice.
It’s a program we’re about to run again. And it’s going to start on the 6th of July. That means the time to guarantee your place as a member of the next cohort is dwindling.
Or, it means that you still have plenty of time to figure out where you want to go and whether you think what you’ll learn as part of the program will get you there or not.
To decide, and, of course, to register, you’re gonna need this link:
And if you decide before Saturday at 11:59pm on the 23rd (just over 4 days from now), then you can still get in on the Early-Bird rate and save $1,000 off what everyone else will pay from Sunday morning.
Only you can decide where you want to go, and only you can decide if this is gonna help you get there, so the ball’s in your court.
Where do you want to go?
Stay safe,
ast
—
Andrew S. Townley
Archistry Chief Executive
