One of the key skills you really need to have if you’re going to be able to excel in any kind of strategic role, and I don’t care if that means you’re building a business, building a security program or building security architecture—it’s all related. And that relationship is something that many people fail to see. They fail to see that it’s not about achieving the *specific* outcome…
…although that is most certainly important.
But to excel at something, whatever it is, is being able to recognize the core skills underneath whatever it was you did to solve the specific problem…
…so you can put those skills to use in solving *any* problem that has the same shape.
Of course, this means you have to be pretty adept at recognizing patterns and structures of things – something any good architect is bound to know how to do – but one of the things you’ll notice after a while is that the whole world is based on the way structures are created, the way they work together, and the ultimate efficiency and effectiveness of any given structure in achieving whatever it is that it was built to achieve.
I realize I’m getting a bit abstract here, but, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you’re a security architect, or your the head of a security program in an organization with multiple 10’s of billions in annual revenue—or at the very least, you’re the manager of a function within security.
And, in all those cases, being able to think abstractly is something that’s actually an essential success criteria—even if you started life in IT or security operations (as many people do).
What I’m talking about – those structures, connections and relationships – is, of course, what we call architecture. But it’s what the discipline of Systems Thinking calls a system.
The thing about systems is that they’re all around us. Some are designed. Some evolve naturally…
…and some are forced to evolve earlier – and under higher stakes of success or failure – than was originally intended.
And others…well, there are others that just get stuck. Formally, those are called “balancing loops”, and it’s the tendency of a system to seek “balance” after a period of time. Of course, “balance” is in the eye of the beholder, so my balance might not be the same as yours.
But it’s important to recognize the systems around us, every day, in every aspect of what we do. Because the understanding of these systems allows us to find leverage points that allow us to influence their behavior.
And, yes, by “behavior” I mean the behavior of people as much – or probably more so – than than I do the behavior of the technical and business systems we deal with every day.
Our society as a whole is ultimately just a system—even if it often feels like one that is out of control, and where we, as individuals, often small and sometimes even insignificant in the face of things that happen where we don’t agree.
It can be the complex system of delivering a project we think is security risk.
It can be the complex organizational dynamics of office politics that might not seem fair.
And it can be the behavior of those around us as humans to each other that we feel isn’t as noble, as compassionate or as understanding as it probably ought to be.
In the face of these challenges, both small and large, the thing we can never forget is that we too are nodes in this complex, messy, unpredictable and endlessly fascinating system of our world. Which means that, because we’re a part of the system, that there are things we can do to influence it’s ultimate behavior…
…but, as you’ve heard me harp about before, there are limits to what we can ultimately control.
Fundamentally, what we control boils down to just two things: how we spend our time and how we respond to events. That’s what’s called our activity and our behavior.
Any change that you want…
…whether it’s to be shifted left in the delivery cycle as security and/or architecture…
…whether it’s to be more respected and trusted by those around you…
…or even whether it’s for people to be treated differently in this world…
The truth is: it all comes down to the decisions we make about our activity and our behavior. What we choose to do. What the choose not to do. What we choose to support. What we choose to ignore.
If all you can think about is “I can’t do security architecture.” Then, that’s probably what’s really going to happen.
Instead, if all you can think about is “How can I do security architecture—even in the environment I’m in, and under the constraints I have, and limited by the resources at my disposal?”
My guess is that you’ll make a whole lot more progress.
Apply that to the way you engage with your fellow humans and stay focused on the outcomes you want…
…rather than getting sucked into the black hole of anger, fear and hatred.
My guess again is that you’ll make a lot more progress there too.
I can help you figure out and practice what I believe is the right activity and behavior to build a more effective security team as part of the Effective Security Leadership Coaching program, no matter where you are in the organization. And I can do this, because I’ve been there, I’ve done it, and the answers are pretty straightforward. The details, if you’re interested in talking about what you want to solve are right here:
https://securityleadershipcoaching.com
However, what I can’t do is tell you what’s the right activity and behavior for you, based on where you are, who you are, and your own personal beliefs. Of course, I have some suggestions…but I’m not you.
But the biggest suggestion I will share is to remember the psychological power of what’s called “target fixation”. On a sport bike, it’s where you’re looking at the ditch instead of the line you want to take through the curve, you panic, and…guess what?
You end up in the ditch with your beautiful machine bent to bits and lots of broken plastic.
It hasn’t happened to me, but I have come close a few times when I was riding regularly.
Many people call it different things, but the underlying principle is the same. With any problem we face, it’s always ultimately a people problem. And often, that “people” is us. So, at the end of the day, we need to remember to ask ourselves…
…what is it you’re focusing on right now?
And are you getting closer to it…or further away?
If you’re not happy about it, then what’s the next decision you need to make to get back to moving in the direction you want to go?
I don’t know the answers to those questions. But I bet you do.
Stay safe,
ast
—
Andrew S. Townley
Archistry Chief Executive
