The primary job of communication | Life of a CISO

On this episode of Life of a CISO, I focus on one of the most important skills to have as a CISO: Communication.

I’ve noticed that how you do one thing is how you do everything. For example, if you have a messy car, or show up late to a meeting, I know that you won’t come to an interview neat and prepared, so that is something that you should work on. A common phrase that I hear that I totally disagree with is “You should treat people the way you want to be treated.” I believe that you should treat people the way they want to be treated.

Nowhere is this more true than in communication. If I spoke English and you spoke German, would you want me to speak to you in English? Of course not. If you were an executive and I started talking to you in technical jargon, would you want that? Also no.

As a CISO, you have to speak to executives in a language that they understand. This means not getting in the weeds with technical details and explaining your suggestions in a way they can easily follow. If you communicate well, you can improve any situation.

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Show notes:

0:51 Amp up your game by taking my CISO certification class
2:58 To be world class, you need to always be improving
4:07 The problem with new year’s resolutions
5:10 All problems are due to communication
5:47 You want to go in and change how you approach communication
7:06 How you do one thing is how you do everything
10:11 Listen first instead of trying to be heard
10:55 The primary job of communication is to receive, not to send
10:28 95% success rate is 5% failure rate
13:20 You’re there to solve the problem
13:50 Should you treat people the way you want to be treated?
14:45 I treat people the way they want to be treated
16:17 Speak the same language
18:13 What executives want to know
19:16 Look for cues when you communicate
22:51 Communication trick: Be brutally honest
24:15 Don’t have more than 5 slides.
28:35 Hone in on the communication

About Dr Eric Cole
Eric Cole, PhD, is an industry-recognized security expert with over 20 years of hands-on experience in consulting, training, and public speaking. As the founder and CEO of Secure Anchor Consulting, Dr. Cole focuses on helping customers prevent security breaches, detect network intrusions, and respond to advanced threats. In addition, he is a sought-after expert witness and a 2014 inductee to the InfoSecurity Hall of Fame.

#CISO #WorldClassCiso

[yacieledeliotelleztoledo]

Dr. I watched a few of your videos and I nailed the CISO interview. I became the finalist and now moving to the second interview. Thank you very much for your time and tips!

[TheXcelleratorLLC]

Do you accept the Post 9/11 GI Bill by chance?

[salehalnuaimi]

Recruiting people people through riding their cars is not fair