At the start of 2023 I created personal and professional goals for myself to speak at conferences more, attend more professional events and capture my professional experience in a series of blog posts. In this post I’ll share what worked, what didn’t and how my results compared to my goals. At the end I’ll discuss what my goals are for 2024
Blogging (and Podcasts)
Just before 2023 kicked off I created this blog, primarily to capture my experience as a way to give back to the industry and to catalog my professional experience as a historical reference for myself. The two biggest lessons learned are: just get started and be consistent.
Just Get Started
I talked to a lot of people in 2023 about this blog and a surprising number confessed they also wanted to write a blog or create a podcast, but hadn’t started for a number of reasons, such as:
- “I’m not a good writer”
- “Nobody wants to hear what I have to say”
- “I don’t have time”
- “I need to get permission”
It is easy to hide behind these excuses and never start so my advice is to stop procrastinating and just get started. No one cares if your grammar isn’t perfect or if your content isn’t perfect. If you need permission, then track down who can approve your content and remove that barrier. Getting started will allow you to iterate, try new things and learn how to get better. The only way you will be able to get started is to set some ground rules for yourself. I personally found I work best by setting aside time on the weekend to write a post and then reward myself with some screen time such as video games or a movie. I also found that I write better when I have an idea and start writing it as soon as possible. If I wait, I often forget my thought process and then don’t write about that topic. Lastly, I found keeping a running idea log on my phone worked well. Whenever I have an idea I write it down in the idea log with as much context as possible, often creating a rough outline on the spot. Then when I get in front my my computer I can fill in the rest of the post.
Be Consistent
My goal in 2023 was to write one blog post or LinkedIn post a week. This felt sustainable without being a massive time commitment every day that would distract from my day job. My secondary goal was to increase my number of readers, followers and connections both virtually and in person. Being consistent is the best way to accomplish all of these goals. I was most consistent when I set aside time on the weekend to write for a few hours before rewarding myself with another activity. I found writing a post on the weekend or during the week allowed me time to refine it before posting it. I also relied heavily on scheduling posts, which allowed me to write several posts when I felt inspired and then post them when I was ready. This also allowed me some wiggle room if I was sick or traveling. By being consistent you continually pop up in people’s feeds and the social media algorithms will begin to recommend your content to people, which will increase your follower base.
So How Did I Do In 2023?
At the start of 2023 I set a goal to write one post per week. On this blog I achieved 38 posts and a combined 94 LinkedIn posts (which includes the blog posts). I started 2023 with 2010 followers and 1938 LinkedIn connections. I now have 2392 followers and 2091 connections. In general I connect with anyone on LinkedIn, but I do prune the connections if people try to sell me stuff or abuse the connection. Overall, I saw a 20% increase in followers and an 8% increase in connections and I’m very happy with these results.
Networking Events
I attended dozens of networking and industry events in 2023 and these spawned tons of additional follow on meet ups. If I meet someone new at an event, I try to connect with them on LinkedIn and then meet up for coffee or drinks to get to know them better. The top events I attended in 2023 were:
- Gartner Evanta CIO / CISO Summits
- HMG Strategy Denver Summit
- Colorado=Security CISO Dinner Series
Public Speaking
One of my 2023 goals was to get back on the public speaking circuit. There are a few security related conferences in Denver with the top one being the Rocky Mountain Information Security Conference. In 2023 I gave a talk at RMISC about “A CISO Primer On Legal Privilege,” which gave a high level overview of legal privilege and had great audience discussion around the topic. I also spoke at a smaller, more intimate conference put on by BrainGu called RS2. This conference wasn’t security specific, but it did have a wide variety of speakers and thought leaders. The smaller conference setting allowed for great networking opportunities and I met a lot of great people there. Lastly, in July 2023 I met Hunter Muller of HMG Strategy as part of being nominated as a 2024 CISO of the Year. At the HMG Denver Summit I spoke on a panel with 3 other CISOs about “Innovation in Cybersecurity”. The HMG conference was a fantastic opportunity to meet other technology executives and hear their lessons learned.
Other Activities
In 2023 I explored joining a few new advisory boards. I’ve been on the CIO/CISO Advisory Board for the Denver Gartner Evanta community for the past few years, but at the end of 2023 I was also asked to join the HMG Denver Advisory Board. I also joined the advisory board of Phoenix Security and the STAR network for 1011 Venture Capital. My goal in all of this is to expand my network, keep up to date with industry trends and give back to the security community.
In addition to advisory boards I also explored doing video blogs and podcasts with other leaders. Most notably, Milan Patel and I have been doing a series of video blogs about the intersection of security and compliance. This has been great to cross pollenate our ideas and also draw from a different pool of followers.
2024 Look Ahead
I had a busy year in 2023 and am very happy with my results. So what’s in store for 2024?
- Continue the blog with a focus on being more timely with hot topics. My most popular posts were the ones that discussed my thoughts on topics that had immediate relevance in the news or industry.
- Do more blogs, podcasts or webinars with other industry leaders.
- Submit to speak at conferences. I’ll plan to continue to submit to speak at RMISC, a Gartner Evanta event and an HGM Strategy Summit. If another opportunity pops up I’ll definitely write a post about it.
- Explore joining additional advisory boards. I am enjoying advising various companies and industry groups on how to navigate the complex cybersecurity market. My experience as a CISO, CTO and lifelong technologist provides perspective so I can help guide these groups to be successful.
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