Patterns inform. If we observe; if we truly see objectively, if the aperture widens, then the scaffolding we construct might actually hold the weight of truth. Where are you in your path to truly understanding people? Where are you in truly understanding the underpinnings of the business where you apply your time and skills? We attempt to have a conversation around mental models and frameworks; the stories that frame our lives. And it was a great conversation.
More than ever, leaders are vulnerable. And if they are vulnerable, then their families and their companies are as well. We turned to a thought leader and author to uncover how this profession might be changing given the proliferation of the threat and the acceleration of digital transformation of security.
I began this conversation thinking it was about yoga and PTSD. I came away with an appreciation of mindfulness as a core asset of a leader. I have to thank Brian Cooke, an executive leader who as spoken eloquently at our physical events about brokenness, the road back, and the skills one can learn to turn the storms of life into strengths.
Cell phones are like rear ends. Everyone has one. In this latest conversation we explore their ubiquitous presence and how it may change our expectations on accessing our homes and businesses. Lurking below this conversation are some interesting lessons for anyone attempting to change behaviors with individuals and market ecosystems.
Are you ready? We can all agree the question is timely when it comes to a generational phenomenon. of risk factors that face organizations around the world. Are we ready?
If we are not, what can we do differently? I am preparing for a protective intelligence summit to help me answer that question. As I prepare for it, I asked an executive leader to assist me in reviewing the agenda, the speakers, and what questions we hope to have addressed. I hope it is helpful to you.
Ideas shape markets. Ideas can change the world. We go back in time with this playlist, to where myths are made; to where information is gathered and has the opportunity to become wisdom; to the battlefield and the art of the generals; and to the breath of life in our music, our art, and in our very bodies and souls.
We are given life. The greatest opportunity. We will walk the garden we are planted in and touch people. We will use our hands to touch the planet. And at the end of the day, we will imprint ourselves in the memories of others. What do you want those memories to be. These are the thoughts of a former CSO who know is attempting to share his leadership lessons with others. Enjoy the ride of a life time.
I love pursuing innovations in any market. Some markets are more adaptive to change then others. This list does not have any of those inclinations. They are unbound; pursuing the next, the better, and the true. Welcome to The Great Conversation where ideas matter. They shape markets. They can change the world.
Fall is upon us. What was new in spring, madly growing in summer, is now beginning to fall. New revelations will come from this. Only memories will remain.
Our playlist features those who have learned from their seasons. And they are producing remarkable insights that they have agreed to share with us in The Great Conversation. Enjoy the brief description that follows and the associated podcast. I look forward to you joining me as well or let us know of someone you believe you would like to hear and learn from in a great conversation. Contact us at info@The-Great-Conversation.com
We are not will-less. Or speechless. We do not need to act like the living dead. That is the beginning of my conversation with Elvin Turner, an award-winning innovation expert and associate professor of innovation, entrepreneurship and marketing for MBA and executive education programs.
His clients include some of the world’s most innovative organizations in the finance, technology, music, and publishing industries.
His recent book: Be Less Zombie: How great organizations create dynamic innovation, fearless leadership, and passionate people is intended for leaders and their teams who are suffering from creative constipation or creative indigestion where ideas never get heard or never get executed.
I was struck by Elvin’s relentless heart and mindset focused on the leadership opportunity to steward tomorrow’s ideas.
Sam Queeno is the Director of Digital Identity and Physical Security for a major utility: American Electric Power (AEP). We have a great conversation around the journey toward AEPs convergence of physical and logical security, first organizationally, then through the baby steps they are taking with the tools.
The conversation then became centered on something all security leaders consider a less then desirable situation: when something bad is happening and you are the last one to know.
This led to a focus on proactive intelligence, first with the hiring of a leader with an analyst background, the manual gathering of information on persons of interest (POI), and eventually the digital transformation of the intelligence gathering process through the purchase of a protective intelligence platform. (Ontic)
“We now have intelligence served up to us”, said Sam. Public records from disparate sources are organized, stored, managed, and delivered to the key people on Sam’s team. However, what Sam said later was telling. I was looking for business and security executives applauding his team’s progress. He corrected that assumption by acknowledging this is the baseline everyone expects their program to have. “This is expected”, said Sam.
Guy Beveridge believes in teaching executives and their security teams how to navigate risk and opportunity. Although he is a professional security consultant he first and foremost is focused on the mind of the leader and how they communicate a risk, resilience, and security mindset to their people.
We have a great conversation around human investment, empowerment, and how to handle the deadly curse of organizational culture; not exposing the fear inside.
There is a critical role for the high net worth and/or corporate leader to consider just like they would do for a key function in their company.
This critical role is the Executive Protection Leader. In a great conversation with Mac Segal, founder and CEO of the AHNA Group, we take advantage of his upcoming International Covert Close Protection Course that he is launching on October 25-31 in Amsterdam to uncover the multi-faceted attributes of such a leader.
You will want to listen in to a thought-provoking exchange on the attributes needed in this age of risk – this is not your father’s James Bond.
AHNA Group is a multi-discipline security consortium, providing you with true security convergence services to ensure smooth and optimal operational outcomes
If you are a gun owner, you know the drill. Keep the gun in a safe. Especially if you have children. What if there was another, better way?
In Seattle, during one of our many so-called civil demonstrations, a gun was taken from a law enforcement officer’s car. A frightening situation. What if the perpetrator could take the gun, but not be able to use it?
It was after another gun-related incident, a school shooting, that the founder of TrueFire, Justin Gant, sought a way to create a fool proof access control device for a firearm. Pretty tough to do since, according to Justin, there have been very few innovations in gun design for many years.
What happened next? A series of design iterations, testing, and test cases that are getting very close to establishing a standard for preventing an unauthorized use of a weapon, without disrupting the experience of the gun owner and the aesthetics of the gun. “It has to not be there”, said Erik Larson, his cofounder.
They are close to imagining a day where no one can access a device that they are unauthorized to use. No more need to lock the gun in a safe. No more frightening incidents around police firearms on the street.
We explore their idea, the stage of their design, and their passion for saving the lives of the gun owner, their friends and family, and law enforcement.
Mark Weatherford is an American cybersecurity professional who has held a variety of executive level positions in both the public and private sectors. He was appointed as the first deputy under secretary for cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2011 to 2013. He is currently the Global Information Security Strategist for Booking Holdings.
Mark Weatherford is investing his wealth of knowledge into helping emerging companies become more strategic in the risk, resilience, and security industry. He does this through a portfolio of private companies as a strategic advisor as well as with non-profits such as the National Cybersecurity Center (NCC) where he is the Chief Strategy Officer. The NCC is a non-profit helping with the cybersecurity of startups and state and local government. The Unfortunate 5000. There are three program pillars that help them meet their mission.
1. Education and outreach. The NCC’s Cyber Education Program provides cybersecurity leadership, with two main pillars: K-12 education, NCC Student Alliance, and the Adult Education Initiative. As our nation addresses the critical gap in skilled cybersecurity talent, NCC addresses the importance of cyber education through programs and partnerships that invite students to participate in an ecosystem which encourages them to learn, explore, and build their skills.
2. The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), a separate nonprofit organization, has the mission to facilitate collaboration across the global space industry to enhance our ability to prepare for and respond to vulnerabilities, incidents and threats; to disseminate timely and actionable information among member entities; and to serve as the primary communications channel for the sector with respect to this information.
3. Voting security. Secure the Vote seeks to increase voter confidence in the U.S. on the accuracy of vote-counting, and to generate greater awareness of possible solutions to critical gaps in the voting infrastructure. Secure the Vote supports jurisdictions’ efforts to offer a secure, auditable mobile voting option for overseas voters through coordinating and evaluating pilots across the country.
After exploring his portfolio and his work, we examine the technologies that are transforming our world.
The Kindness Games was created in September 2020 by Tim Wenzel and Lee Oughton, two security industry leaders. They believed they could help counter-program the disruption, hate, and discontent that had engulfed the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the ensuing spike of racial tensions and civil unrest. They exposed their idea to me, Ron Worman, and I fumbled with a spontaneous video recording as my initial contribution. Many others have contributed as well. It has touched something in all of us.
Here is another contribution via our podcast, The Great Conversation. In it you will hear the fullness of my heart for the leaders in this industry who I have encountered in my 20+ years of strategic consulting as managing director of The Sage Group and The Great Conversation. I still sound awkward. It is unscripted. But it is important to keep the kindness moving forward. Thank you Tim and Lee and thank you to The Great Conversation community.
Innovation. Is it derived from people, process, or technology… or all 3? When we have great conversations, it usually is a quest to discover the genesis of the idea that prompts a person to invent, change, and, of course, lead. That who, that why, that process is core to our conversations. I hope you enjoy the August playlist and discover for something that leads to your why.
As we publish the June 2021 Great Conversation Playlist, we are struck with the ancient notion that leadership navigates between the collegial and the solitary; the master and the masterless. It is a dance. It can be poetry in motion. It can be potholes on a lonely virgin road. The leaders in this series have it all. Pull up to the roundtable for a great conversation.
Like a pebble thrown into the water, each of our conversations enters the vast waters of our markets and world, rippling outward, and touching people in profound ways. You barely notice the outlying circles, of many ideas until you are living them. Join another Great Conversation with this playlist for May.
In our conversations, we meet leaders who are actively conscious. They ponder their experiences and the hard facts of their reality, and believe they have the opportunity for innovation and change. Enjoy the March 2021 playlist and take away a few nuggets that will energize your next steps on your path to value.
The word ‘Why’ seems to be the calling of this generation. Answering the big causal question. The Great Conversation is no different. Answering the ‘why’ is a source of individual empowerment, team efficacy, and generational transformation. This months playlist promises to feed you with ideas that will empower your ‘why’.
