Nobody was really prepared for this. And, yes, by “this”, I mean the whole pandemic ‘pockyclypse we’re all living every day—while at the same time trying to not kill our housemates, family members, pets and whomever may be stuck under the same roof with us for a large number of days…with a large number of more days yet to come.
Or, worse yet, you’re on your own, literally alone with your own thoughts…and your dishes…your dirty laundry…and an overwhelming number of daily Zoom calls trying to keep the world from falling apart.
Your world.
Your organization’s world.
Your own little (or big) corner of your organization’s security world.
And, even if somehow we were prepared individually or organizationally to manage our own crisis, it’s pretty unlikely that our plans encompassed the mass meltdown of the global economy we’re witnessing right now.
In my inbox today, I was reminded of the Stockdale Paradox, a moniker coined by Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great,” about the blend of optimism and pragmatism used by Commander James Stockdale to survive his 5-year ordeal in How Lo Prison during the Vietnam War.
It’s also a reminder that everything’s about perspective. Because when he started his stay in Hotel How Low, he did it with a broken back. And then he endured repeated beatings, whippings, choking, malnutrition and other atrocities aimed at breaking his spirit and getting a false confession of guilt and American complicity in the general state of the world at the time.
5 years.
And yet…he didn’t break. He didn’t give up hope that he would somehow survive his ordeal. He remained steadfast in his commitment to surviving…to surviving whatever it was that they managed to dream up to throw at him.
The “secret” that enabled him to accomplish this survival when many of the others imprisoned alongside him perished was this:
“You must retain faith that you prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties. And at the same time…you must confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.”
Because if you don’t see clearly the real state of the world, you won’t see the real problems you need to solve—nor will you be able to see their solutions.
As security professionals, we’re pretty unlikely to be overly optimistic about things, which was one of the reasons some of Stockdale’s peers didn’t make it out. They ended up being so optimistic they were delusional. Someday, help will come. Someday…they’ll stop doing this.
Or whatever.
On the contrary, we’re much more likely to be overwhelmed with pessimism. We’ve been professionally conditioned this way, so it’s not 100% our fault.
I mean, not only is the glass half empty…some punter’s gonna come along any minute, bump the table…
…knock it over…
…spill the last drop of whiskey (the Irish kind) in the whole place…
…and we don’t have any money left to buy another round…
…the damn glass is gonna roll onto the floor…
…it’ll shatter into a million pieces…
…I’m going to try and catch it, but instead, I’ll miss…
…I’ll slip off my chair…
…I’m going to land on the floor…
…and the broken spike of non-shatter-proof glass (because the bar was being cheap)…
…is going to stab out my eye…
…the ambulance will have a wreck getting here…
…and I’m going to bleed out…
…on the dirty, smelly, sticky floor of the pub…
…and I’ll never get a chance to see my wife and kids ever again!
Or…have you really done something different than this kind of analysis in the last risk assessment you were asked to do? No?
Maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, our default state of “not only is the sky falling, but it’s gonna take the world with it” is the other extreme that prevented some of the other men alongside Stockdale from making it out. They got overwhelmed. They couldn’t see any way out. And they gave up.
Eventually…they just died.
In order to be effective in our day-to-day jobs – not to mention get through this whole COVID-induced commercial meltdown – we need to find that balance Stockdale was talking about.
Of course, you’re probably gonna ask me something like, “How exactly am I supposed to do that, Andrew?”
How to maintain that confidence you need to deal with everything falling apart, see it clearly for what it is, and yet still remain unflinchingly committed to achieving the outcome…
…whether that outcome is improving your own security skills…
…enhancing (or starting) a proper security architecture program…
…or just getting through the lockdown without losing your mind, getting divorced or seriously regretting your decision to procreate or parent a pet?
Normally, the correct balance of pragmatism, commitment and confidence comes from one or both of the following:
- You’ve identified a solution you’re confident will get you where you want to be, and you’re able to make measurable progress towards it every day,
- Or you have unwavering, quiet faith in your ability to find solutions to any problem you’re going to face as you work through all the layers of issues, complexity and confusion crashing over you harder than the near-mythical Mavericks waves made famous by both the movie and operating system with the same name.
Knowing where it comes from is a start, but being able to deal with the daily drama of one or both of those situations as you strive for an objective still won’t be easy…
…even for me.
And I can tell you that I’ve certainly faced my fair share of ‘em in both my business and personal life.
The good news is that you don’t have to figure out how to get the security program results – or successfully establish and expand your security architecture program – all on your own. Maybe I can help you, and maybe I can’t. But if I can’t, there’s gotta be someone out there who can.
You just have to believe it’s worth it.
You have to have the confidence – that even in the midst of all the chaos, change and uncertainty you’re facing right now – that it’s worth doing. That it’s worth being better. That it’s possible for security to be more effective.
Now, I don’t have a clue if I can help you or not. Yes, I’ve helped a lot of other people in various organizations around the world do everything from enhance their individual security architecture and leadership skills to totally transform their enterprise security program. But they’re not you. Your situation is unique. Your personality is unique. Your organizational politics are unique.
And, depending on where you are, I might have a snowball’s chance in Hell of actually helping you.
On the other hand…I might.
So, if you’d like to have a quick call to see if anything I do might be able to help you increase the effectiveness of your security program – or yourself – then all you need to do is use the link below to make it happen. I’m not going to try and “sell” you, because if I can’t help, or you’re not ready, then that’s totally fine. At least we’ll know.
But if I can, now just might be the time to find out.
Here’s the link:
https://securityleadershipcoaching.com.
Stay safe,
ast
—
Andrew S. Townley
Archistry Chief Executive
