Recently I had another awesome opportunity to share our vision, strategy and passion around Cyber Security this time while delivering the training around Pulsant Protect and Continuous Compliance to some exciting bunch in Newcastle with the one and only Lisa aka @lisalocketinapocket [Hi Lisa!]. We yet again received warm welcoming, we had an exiting discussion and we had a lot of fun!
You: “What was our feedback?”
Me: “We want more!!”
..and so ladies and gentleman: “More is what you will get! ;)”
As I’m writing this blog while flying in back from Alicante [Monday morning] that I went to straight from Newcastle [last Friday evening], I wonder:
Me: “Why did I have so much fun?!”
Me: “Why would anyone else want to spend another three hours with us talking about Cyber Security?!”
Me: ..as usually “How can I push it to the next level!? :)”
After collecting some feedback, thinking [hopefully with certain amount of accuracy] and resting around Alicante, I came to few conclusions:
1. Fun
I believe that if you have fun in life, you are the richest person in the world! Maybe that is often confused and misunderstood but when I observe the [so called] “professionalism”, I think that people forgot about the main goal of the most valuable asset in life - time! I’m not saying that the set of values connected with this behaviour is completely irrelevant! However, I AM claiming that if “professionalism” is all that you got and you use it to shields your insecurities, lack of passion, or your are simply building your career; you might find yourself living a grey life destined for continues ..unhappiness! Also, you know what? If Technology, or especially Cyber Security seems to be boring to you, you are clearly surrounded by the wrong people! :) Finally, I’m coming to a conclusion that people are not ignorant in the Cyber Security space, but require fun and interactive education to understand the threat landscape affecting their work and private life. Cybersecurity is today and will be in the future very relevant to both! In summary, to have fun is to be honest. To be honest is to have the opportunity to connected and relate to others! Simple! :)
Check out this book if you want to learn some logic and science behind my logic: “Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul” by Stuart Brown
2. Teamwork
Many like to take all the credit for work performed while forgetting about effort from people around them. Fortunately, we are at the end of an era in which we unconsciously chose to award “being the first”, or “the number one” while ignoring the rest. The good news is that the future is different! [wait for it.. wait.. any minute now.. :)] Uhm.. until we will get there, here are some pointers that should allow people lost in time and space to understand their inaccurate and incomplete point of view. Here we go:
There’s a big difference between invention and innovation - understand it and realise that you are not even on that level!
Unless you received a Noble Award, you are probably repeating something that was done 100 times around the world - be humble as your one of 8 billion :)
There’s too many sharks in the tank and there's always a bigger fish out there - what goes around, comes around :)
In the world of increasing complexity avoiding teamwork and everything that comes along with it is ..limited! Why would you limit yourself on your own?
Finally, one of the greatest feedbacks that we always receive is that the audience appreciates the interactive form of the meetings. Hm.. I wonder why?! The strange thing is that I don't see it this way, I'm just trying to have fun! :)
Lets describe a sample session: Everyone is allowed to voice their opinion, crack jokes and nobody is judged while we work on making ourself better either sharing experiences, feedback or consuming the presented knowledge. Based on my limited experience, I think that teamwork or in other words putting yourself on the same level with others builds a better future for all participants and the overall business - it's so easy and enjoyable! :) Don’t underestimate it as the alternative is boring at best with long term consequences!
3. Planning
I personally like to have fun in life and so I few in from Newcastle straight to Alicante rather than back to London! Why? Balance! I used to plan everything in great details [on a paper or in my mind] with an aim to see it with my imagination. Everything always had plan A, B and C to remove the stress. Everything was deeply analysed and double checked, finally everything had a purpose and a place. "Professional" huh?! :) ..and so I walked this limited path for many years to realise that this in order to be creative, easily and naturally get in to the “flow state of mind”, you need to stop planning and walk forward with a purpose, on top of “oh I wonder what’s there” attitude!
Connecting it to my reflections on the last event, I'm slowly and surely coming to another conclusion and I start to see the same pattern in public speaking - requiring a lot of creativity. I only train my pitches in my mind to realise during the presentation that 90% of what I was planning didn't happen! In result, I create something completely different ..better, funnier and enjoyable than the original on the fly. Are these two examples [there's many more] point to the fact that planning kills creativity?
You: “..but if you fail to plan, your plan to fail!”
Me: “You never really fail and I’m not saying that planning is somehow EVIL as it is required in complex long-term projects requiring surgical precision, but I believe that these days you need a take a balanced approached to planning as otherwise instead of CREATING you will be in a constant loop of a REPETITION - like a very inefficient calculator :)”
Me: Oh.. one more thing when taking about repetition.. the future has two type of jobs available:
Option 1: Jobs where people are in command of the machine
Option 2: Jobs where machine are in command of people
What's the point?
Point 1: Repetition will be handled by the machine
Point 2: Option 1 will be replaced my machines in the long-term
Point 3: Unleash and perfect your creativity
To summarise, I choose to have the same amount of fun in my so called work and private life. I don't have a job because of it and I find it a great advantage even though some around me do not share my vision.
Today, I search for “the flow state” and when I find it, I flow along with it as it takes me to incredible places virtually and physically.
Additionally, I believe that the vibe generated by our behaviour in life defines the environment around us by attracting or detracting positive and negative energy. The positive parts of this behaviours at the basis of a healthy working environment giving birth to teamwork. The negative? Well.. lack of a culture! Choose your sides wisely and review your surrounding often. Tip: Don't follow the "dark side" as it's not worth it! :)
Finally, "to go when nobody went before” you need to allow your life on certain levels to stay completely unplanned, just like my trips recently. I don't think that you can completely abandon planning however, I think that you can replace it with a balanced approach utilising planning on one hand versus honesty and passion on the other!
Life is na adventure! Alicante pictures attached! :) Enjoy! :)
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