Setting Your Goals for 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2016 is upon us and it is a time of revelry, celebration, departing the old year and preparing for the new one.  Of course, it is a time for new Goals for your profession, career, and personal aspects of your life.  However, how can you "build" a decent set of Goals that not only "work" but can be used to help you monitor your progress?

And yes, this approach to Goal Setting can be applied to critical infrastructure projects, advancing your career, etc.

For the past few weeks I did some serious study on the Internet/YouTube and other resources on Goal identification and development.  My favorite resources included Mr. Anthony Robbins, Stefan Pylarinos, Michael Hyatt, the book The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield et al,, and some personal notes I've accumulated over the years developing Goals for my career, employer and personal life.

With the ideas harvested from above, some key concepts surfaced as I began this year's effort to develop my own professional/career Goals as well as some personal ones.  Here are points to consider:

1. Start with a "Brainstorm" and list all of your goals you have for the next one, five, 10, 20 years.  Just write them down and perhaps categorize them into such areas or categories as Professional, Physical, Personal, Financial, Family, Spiritual, etc.
   
2. Select 5 to 10 of the most important Goals identified -- especially those you want to accomplish this year. (Trying to do more than 10 may just overwhelm you)
   
3. Using these Goals you've developed, answer the following for each one -- you'll see this approach in the form shown below:
   
• What is the AREA of Focus?  Or, what is the "Headline" for the Goal?
  
• What is the DEADLINE?  Be sure to put a specific date, not just "This Year."

• Write down what the Goal is -- Use the SMART approach whereby the Goal should be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound -- Maybe consider writing down what you will "see" when the Goal is achieved (e.g., a bound/prepared report, or a waistline of 32 inches, or starting a new job, etc.)
  
• AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART -- WRITE DOWN WHY YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.  TAKE THE TIME TO EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, WHAT YOUR PASSION IS ABOUT THIS GOAL, AND WHY YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THIS EFFORT.  Take your time to really ensure you can articulate WHY this is important.  It will pay off later on.
  
• Fill in the necessary actions required to start, pursue and finish the Goals.  Consider set-up actions such as doing research, preparing files, etc.  Then, add a fairly detailed list of actions to take -- preferably in order -- to achieve the Goal.

But, this is just the beginning...

Take time to review your Goals, at least Monthly.  Ascertain your progress, problems, barriers, and successes.  Take the time to savor your wins and look at ways to achieve the "stretch" Goals.  

If anyone would like a .docx file of the above Goals form, please let me know via the comments to this post.

Lastly, I've used the above process and form to set up my Goals for 2016!  My goals are in the areas of physical health, personal habits, writing, photography, and trying to clean out my office and garage!  I'm excited about the new year and I hope you find this approach and the format above useful!

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Fundamental Skills for Any Security Practitioner

As a consultant, teacher and author I am often asked about the key knowledge, skills and certifications required to be a "successful" CISO or security professional.  The questions are usually around such issues as "Should I get my CISSP or CISM?" etc.

My usual response is often focused on having the "fundamentals" down pat such as understanding the business and having strong communication skills -- especially with upper management and the groups you are supporting.

This past quarter in my Masters of Infrastructure Planning and Management at the University of Washington one of our assigned readings was in my Comprehensive Emergency Planning course (IPM501).  The reading was entitled, "Report of the 2013 Disciplinary Purview Focus Group: Scholarship and Research to Ground the Emerging Discipline of Emergency Management."

Sounds dull, doesn't it?

The report was written by a group of scholars studying the field of emergency management.  Their focus "...was to identify the body of scholarship and research related to emergency management's purview that could ground the discipline, particularly as it relates to the education of students."

The report had some interesting perspectives on the subject; however, my key takeaway -- and worthy of me spending time on this blog -- is Appendix J: Skills Emergency Management Students Should be Able to Demonstrate upon Graduation.

This Appendix lists the following skills -- of which I think any security professional should also have competence:

• Verbal Communication
• Written Communication
• Interpersonal Communication
• Group Communication
• Network Building and Stakeholder Engagement
• Analytical Thinking
• Application of Research in Practice
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Leadership

So, to my friends, students and colleagues who ask me "What skills do I need to possess to be successful in the security field?"  The list to follow is above.....then work on your technical skills such as a CISSP, etc.

Thanks to my professor, Robert Schneider Ed. D. and Director of Emergency Management for Grant County, Washington for this reading requirement...Appendix J made it worth the read.

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Mr. Gisli Olafsson -- A True and Proven Crisis Leader

I am currently a student in the University of Washington Masters of Infrastructure Planning and Management (IPM) program.  This quarter I am taking IPM501, Comprehensive Emergency Management.  As part of this course one of our required readings is an excellent crisis leadership book by Mr. Gisli Olafsson entitled The Crisis Leader.

We were very fortunate to "virtually meet" Mr. Olafsson on an Adobe Connect lecture on July 29th where Mr. Olafsson took 90 minutes to highlight his experiences as an urban search and rescue leader including his experience as a team leader for Iceland's International Urban Search and Rescue team (ICE-SAR) immediately after the tragic earthquake hit Haiti in 2010.

Overall, Mr. Olafsson is a very compelling and experienced emergency response manager and leader with some excellent -- albeit tragic -- stories from his experiences responding to disasters around the world.  In his lecture he raised some excellent comments and ideas about the role of leadership during a crisis.  Some of the key ideas and comments he raised are captured below:

CL = Y + T + R

The equation above is one way Mr. Olafsson tried to explain what crisis leadership includes and entails.  The terms are first interpreted as:

CL = Crisis Leadership

Y = You

T = Team

R = Response

In summary he used this equation as a way to help capture some key aspects of personal leadership.

Y = You

You need to know yourself -- you need to know how you react under times of stress and crisis and how you deal with events -- including those events with substantial amounts of death and destruction.  You need to understand your emotions, fears and how to deal with these psychological arrows so you can be an effective leader.

Mr. Olafsson pointed out that key to the "You" aspect is to realize that you need to trust your team and their capabilities in order to control and even block your fear.  You need to be prepared for the task at hand by knowing your own strengths and weaknesses.  You also need to be physically and psychologically fit to endure the long hours and stressful conditions.

T = Team

Paramount elements for leadership success includes being resilient (also referred to as "Semper Gumby" as a reference to the very flexible cartoon character).  Secondly, you need to always be preparing through planning and exercising.. 

Mr. Olafsson noted that as a rule of thumb from a World Bank document on Natural Hazards Unnatural Disasters that for every hour or preparation spent you can expect to save six hours of effort; similarly for every dollar spent you can expect to save six dollars.

You want to build your team so that you are a "...leader of leaders..." where the team members are empowered to not only do their job but also to fill the role as a leader as required for the situation and based on their technical specialties/expertise.  Don't be a micromanager but lead your "leaders" so they are effective and the job gets done.

R = Respond

Response to a crisis is a key reason why you are at the disaster.  But, you are surrounded by many challenges ranging from the disaster itself to the weather to the debris field to the emotional survivors and even to the smell.  First you need to focus -- block the external stimuli and do your task at hand.  Secondly, take advantage of the intelligence and help that can be provided by the local population affected by the disaster.  Apparently FEMA in the U.S. refers to this concept as "Survivor-centric Response."

Responding requires a team with solid morale.  As noted in Chapter 25, "Team Morale," Mr. Olafsson states, "No matter which way it starts out , one of your crucial roles as a leader is to ensure that you keep morale high, even during the most difficult times.  Your ability to do that depends on a number of things including:

• Your rapport with team members...
• Your ability to read others...
• Your ability to understand how the situation is affecting people..."

Conclusion

If you are a leader of any sort -- but especially one placed -- or potentially placed -- into an emergency situation or worse yet a disaster, I would highly recommend you take time to read, digest and contemplate the excellent and field-proven advice offered in this book by Mr. Olafsson.  As a 40+ year leader myself, I found his advice to be "...right on..." and useful for my professional and personal leadership roles.

Mr. Olafsson's website is:  www.thecrisisleader.com and he can be followed on Twitter @gislio

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