Good Times in Security Come When You Least Expect Them

Exit the Tunnel: We all get tunnel vision from time to time. But when we get overly focused on a given philosophy, a given approach, a given set of tasks, or a given work program, we often miss all the good going on outside of the tunnel we put ourselves inside. Being open to something happening in our periphery can help us find new and creative ways to solve problems and see the good that might otherwise pass us by — like that next great way to improve our security posture.

Welcome Input: Don't just welcome input — actively solicit it. Is it possible that you'll hear a bunch of bad ideas that you can't possibly consider for one reason or another? Of course. But what about that one gem of an idea that you'll hear that may solve a difficult problem you've been wrestling with for quite some time? When you least expect it, you just might hear something that will pleasantly surprise you with its cleverness. But if you don't welcome and solicit input, you'll remain unprepared to receive the good that may come from the thoughts and input of others.

Open Your Eyes: Some of us tend to "close our eyes" in a professional sense from time to time. It pays to open our eyes, be aware of our surroundings, and take a look around as often as we can. Perhaps you will notice something you wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Sometimes, there are good things happening just beyond our field of vision. And, more often than not, we are the ones limiting the extent to which we can see what's out there. Broadening our perspective allows us to notice and leverage the good that may be going on just outside of where we're accustomed to looking. 

Open Your Mind: How many times in our lives do we hear something without truly parsing, understanding, and internalizing it? Similarly, how often do we encounter or notice something without truly seeing it for the good it brings and the value it adds? For most of us, these scenarios likely happen quite frequently. It helps to look at things with a different spin sometimes to try and reframe them and see the positive effects. To look for the good. Doing so allows us to navigate events differently. It causes us to be aware that when we look upon something differently, we may see it from an entirely different perspective in order to leverage it for good, even if how to do so wasn't initially obvious to us.

Take a Long Drive for a Short Concert: I once drove three hours each way for an hour-long concert. The entire seven-hour trip was worth it just for that one hour of enjoyment. Why am I telling you this story? The overwhelming majority of your efforts may produce nothing at all of value, and that's OK. Not every security endeavor can have a huge impact, or even end in success. But a small percentage of your efforts may produce results that blow you away — and that is what is most important. It's important to look upon your security endeavors as an investment. The security organization that continues to make wise investments will continue to reap positive results from those investments. Its security posture will improve. Conversely, the security organization that runs from investment because not every single investment pays dividends immediately will stagnate and eventually worsen with time as risks and threats evolve.