Are your cybersecurity defences in a hopeful, comfortable or provable state?
Cybersecurity is a technical topic. If technology is not your primary area of expertise, it can be difficult to assess how your firm's current security measures stack up. My Tri-State Assessment Matrix can help, as it avoids the techie speak and focuses on your gut feeling about three areas - technical defences; human defences; regulatory alignment. How these areas are currently positioned gives a strong indication about how IT security is being managed in your firm.
4 milestones to get capable, secure, and compliant IT
The four phases of the W4 Methodology - Where, What, Why, What (Now) - includes four clear milestones. Each milestone proves the progress you are making as you pragmatically move from your current situation to your desired future state.
The 12 steps that regulated firms are taking to go from unsure to secure
When IT is your responsibility but not your primary area of expertise, it can be difficult to figure out how to gain the IT capabilities that you want while ensuring you have the IT security that you need. My roadmap, containing 12 steps across 4 phases that I call the W4 Methodology, can help you work through the process in a pragmatic and sane way.
The insider threat
Most employees want to get their job done and go home. Most ex-employees want to move on with their lives. But it only takes one to cause havoc for your firm.
Even honest criminals can get your money
To reduce the risk of being the next victim of a cyber crime, you need to focus on the most common ways these criminals will try to get your money and the basic defences needed to stop them.
Humpty Dumpty, risk management and incident response planning
Humpty Dumpty can tell us a lot about risk management, incident response planning and business continuity planning.
Incident Response Planning saved Little Red Riding Hood
it turns out that Little Red Riding Hood's village had an incident response plan. I'm sure no-one in the village wanted to consider the idea of a wolf eating one of their kids. But they did consider the awful scenario. And they had a plan to recover from the incident.
You need to train Little Red Riding Hood
Back in the 10th century, Little Red Riding Hood and her granny were victims of a simple fraud. How many of your staff could fall victim to a similar fraud in the 21st century?
Your house alarm won’t stop James Bond. So, why do you still use it?
You try to defend your home against opportunist criminals. Are you doing the same in your firm?
Don’t undervalue a near-miss
Near-misses are a learning opportunities. But our outcome bias can make us blind to these opportunities.
There’s always one
IT projects and other planned changes frequently fail - They exceed budgets, timelines, or fail to deliver the expected benefits. It may not be a technology problem. It may be a people problem. And there could be a very rational reason for this problem that should have been considered from the start.
Partying like it’s 1999
The world is changing, and not because of technology. Is your organisation actively assessing and adjusting to these trends, or is it operating as if it's still 1999?
Are you relying on Paddington Bear?
What was fit-for-purpose 3 years ago may no longer be fit for purpose now. We knew this when we were 8. Now that we are responsible for the success of our organisations, why have we forgotten this?
Turkeys don’t worry about Christmas
When people talk about 'risk', they usually think about 'likelihood'. But risk is not just about likelihood. It's also about impact. And when we think about impact, we start to pay attention.
You’ve locked the Windows. But the door is still open.
It's risky for an organisation to rely on technology that is designed for home use. Laptops purchased in retail outlets are just one simple example of this risk. On the outside, they look the same as enterprise-grade laptops. But there can be important components missing on the inside.
Playing golf with a shovel
Running a professional organisation using technology that is designed for the home is like playing golf with a shovel. From a distance, it all looks fine. But you don't need to get too close to realise things aren't going to go well when there's real competition on the course, or if the weather changes.
Staff are not just for Christmas
Recruiting more staff is one way to ease the pains of a growing business. But staff are not just for Christmas so before you take on this expense, make sure you know the true cost first.
Technology is not the solution to your growing pains
When an organisation is growing, it will often experience problems maintaining a consistent quality of service. Many will turn to technology to relieve these pains. But technology is not the solution.
All you can do is everything you can do
We don’t have control over everything. Luck plays its part. But we shouldn’t let luck distract us from the actions we can take.
Cybersecurity is impossible.
Cybersecurity is an oxymoron: There is no such thing as 100% security. But you should still take steps to ensure you’re not an easy target.
All your eggs in one basket
Major system failures can cause major headaches. The larger the system, the larger the headache.
Someone who will make me laugh. Must love dogs.
Getting married to someone that we’ve just met online would be insane. So why do we do this when choosing a new business partner or technology?
Small bets
All change involves risk. To mitigate the risk, we try to avoid change altogether, we go all in, or we plan to the nth degree. But there’s another way - Small bets. Small steps. Small spends. Small risks.
How a graduate could be your most expensive employee
Excel is a magical tool. But if you have an Excel magician on your staff, you need to plan for their disappearance.
Excel: Simple but also risky
Excel is a simple tool to use. But don't let its simplicity fool you into thinking it's not important.
Excel: Simple but also valuable
Ignore the technology purists: Just because Excel is ‘just’ a simple end-user tool, it can still be the best way to solve real business problems.