Leadership in Crisis: Building Trust with Continuous Training...

How often have you ever heard the leadership management philosophy that you must "Train Like You Fight"?  Here is another way to look at it:

"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." Norman Schwarzkopf

The theme is all too familiar with Operational Risk Management (ORM) teams that operate on the front lines of asymmetric threats, internal corruption, natural disasters and continuous adversaries in achieving a "Defensible Standard of Care."

As the senior leader in your unit, department or subsidiary the responsibility remains high for preparedness, readiness and contingency planning.  Your personnel and company assets are at stake and so what have you done this month or quarter to train, sweat and prepare?  How much of your annual budget do you devote to the improvement of key skills for your people in a moment of crisis or chaos?

What will the crisis environment look like?  Will it develop with clouds, water and wind or the significant shift in tectonic plates?  Will it begin with the insider employee copying the most sensitive merger and acquisition strategy to sell to the highest bidder?  Will it start with a single IT server displaying a warning to pay a ransom or lose all possibility of retrieving it's data and operational capacity to serve your business?  Will it end up being another example of domestic terrorism or workplace violence like San Bernadino, Paris or Ft. Hood?

Leaders across our globe understand the waves of risk and the possible issues that they may encounter each year.  Many travel to Davos to the World Economic Forum where the world tackles these disruptive events, with the best minds and exchange of information.  Why? They understand that vulnerability is what they fear the most.

Yet what can you do in your own community, at your own branch office to address the Operational Risks you face?  How can you wake up each day with the confidence as a leader, that you have trained and prepared for the future events that will surprise you?  It begins with leadership and a will to lead your team into the places no one really likes to talk about.  The scenarios that people fear to train for, because they think they will never happen.

Achieving any level of trust with your employees, your customers and your supply chain revolves around your leadership.  The discipline of "Operational Risk Management" is focused on looking at all of the interdependent pieces of your business mosaic.  The environment you operate in, even the building that houses your most precious assets.  All of these factors are considered in developing and executing your specific plan for training and readiness.

So what?  The question is

"Why Don't Employees Trust Their Bosses"?

Why this lack of trust?

As a leader your roles are multi-faceted and there is never enough time or money in the budget.  The leaders who excel in the next decade, will find a way.  They will invest in their teams training and the systems to increase trust, by addressing Operational Risk Management (ORM) as a key component of the interdependent enterprise.

The "TrustDecisions" you require and the understanding developed to insure effective "Trust Decisions" by all of your stakeholders will remain your most lofty goal as a leader.

How you train to fight and how you sweat now will make all the difference in your next war.  From the boardroom to the battlefield your leadership is all that is needed.  Your leadership will make a difference...

Intelligence Sharing: Responsibility to Provide...

Back in the summer of 2008, the "Need to Know" was now finally becoming extinct. Intelligence Communities around the globe began ever so slightly changing their behavior.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) had released it's Information Sharing Strategy:

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was announcing the first-ever strategy to improve the ability of intelligence professionals to share information, ultimately strengthening national security.

The "Responsibility to Provide" attitude combined with a "Rule-set" reset could get the entities moving the right direction. Risk Managers in institutions in the private sector have been grappling with this business issue for multiple decades.

The reality that the FBI, NSA, CIA and DHS are sharing more effectively will only be evident in actual behaviors, not technology.

The new mantra "Responsibility to Provide" would be repeated over and over but where is the evidence?  

The culture shift was predicated on the ability to manage risks associated with mission effectiveness and disclosure of sensitive information. A Trusted Environment.

This new information sharing model is not revolutionary and requires the same care with privacy, information security and civil liberties that we all expect when it comes to personal identifiable information.

Adding new incentives to share information or rewards for doing so will soon be the norm and the behavior changes will be evident. Great care will be given to the ability to protect sources and methods of collection.

Creating a "Single Information Environment" (SIE) will improve the ability for analysts and investigators to get access earlier and to discover what exists. Enhancing collaboration across the IC community would be a strategic goal and has been a dream for over twenty years.

So let's go back to the "Trust Model" for a minute:

• Governance: The environment influencing sharing.
• Policy: The "rules" for sharing.
• Technology: The "capability" to enable sharing.
• Culture: The "will" to share.
• Economics: The "value" of sharing.

A 500 day plan was then in place. The integration has now been reemphasized even today. Let's make sure that our vigilance continues and on this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, our spirits are reenergized...

Risk Visualization: Enterprise Prevention...

When "Corporate Executives" start talking about how to reduce fraud and other critical Operational Risks across the institution, there is going to be plenty of debate.

Where do you focus your resources and investments in order to get the best ROI and economic value?

If you thought the pornographers were the leading ledge of innovation on the AI Internet, there is a new breed of international criminals and corporate attackers that have emerged at the top of the pyramid.

Financial services organizations are taking an enterprise view of global risk prevention to try and keep ahead of these increasingly clever and technology oriented crooks.

Having an enterprise view of holistic risk is the "Holy Grail" and some would say that focusing on the account and not more on the customer is the wrong approach.

What is clear about the online evolution of fraud activity is that social engineering is working in the exploitation game. Hardening all of the systems with two-factor authentication or even IP Geolocation is just part of a layered risk strategy.

Working from within the walls of your institution trying to figure out how to protect your assets and your customers is merely a myopic strategy.

The attackers are moving too fast and have access to the same tools in their labs where they utilize their own methods and processes for exploiting the vulnerabilities in your latest applications.

Now that you have spent millions on implementing that new AML or fraud detection system, are you sleeping any better at night?

"True strategic analysis of risk and the convergence of relevant data makes scenario development, proactive planning and open source intelligence an area that requires consistent attention."

Simulations and evaluation of possible physical and digital exploits that haven't even been detected yet could provide the proactive and preventive advantage you have been seeking.

What is your latest hypothesis?  Have you tested it effectively to determine the likelihood and impact of success? Training and practicing for the unknown and unthinkable puts you and your team in a more resilient mode to survive the next attack. Whether it's through the front door, the suppliers back door or through the copper wire into your customers home or business office, detection is critical.  

Anticipation and deterrence is imperative...

New Year 2026: Becoming a Knowledge Navigator...

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others”. From 2 Timothy 2:2

Approaching New Year's Day 2026 people in countries across the globe will be praying for a hopeful future.

What have you accomplished in 2025 to assist others in becoming more Strong, more Smart, more Reliable, more Knowledgeable and more Resilient?

When shall you lead a "Team" to overcome Evil in our world and to build new Safe Havens for those you care about?

How will you lead others to build new skills that will in turn create new innovation?

Creating and delivering knowledge-based products and services that makes those around us smarter is a lofty vision.

The outcomes we seek each week is different and yet very much the same:

• Create new learning and significant outcomes.
• Identify weaknesses and any brewing evil on a continuous basis.
• Develop positive outcomes and share new found “Decision Advantage”.
• Believe in your ability to show others the way.

New Year's Eve 2026, look around you at 6:00PM.  What do you hear and see?

If it is not all that you wish for yourself, and that you want to change, then Adapt, Change and Innovate.

Your own future into 2026 is all in your hands and awaiting your actions.  At 7:00PM, start reading a book “The Monster Under the Bed” by Stan Davis and Jim Botkin. https://a.co/d/bKS4KRA

In 2026, you too shall learn the “Seven Ways” of opportunity of knowledge for profit and how to teach others.  Pay close attention to the THIRD:

“Any business can become a knowledge business by putting data and information to productive use, creating knowledge-based products and services that makes its customers smarter.”

Onward!

Linchpin: Trust in a Continuously Changing Environment...

In the early morning nautical twilight on a cold winter morning, thoughts about how the world is changing comes into clarity.  What do you believe in?

As the asymmetric threats seem to grow and our respective thoughts scan a vast Operational Risk landscape of people, processes, systems and external events; there is a mission worth pursuing.  It is a mission that is uncertain, full of unexpected change and potential catastrophes.

The outcomes that you seek will not always materialize as you wish, yet that is to be expected.  After all, what would an organization, state, region or country be like, without any substantial changes, unexpected events or new challenges?  You see, humans do not thrive in environments where behavior or events are 100% predictive.

We work best when there is a problem to solve, an environment or challenge that we can explore.  We can conquer or adapt to, in order to survive another day.  It is this ability to explore, to test, to solve problems that sets us apart from the current state of "Artificial Intelligence", for now.

Now, pivot your thoughts to the current ecosystem of people you encounter on a daily basis.  How does that environment change each day?  What mechanisms do you have in place to mitigate the risks that could create negative consequences and outcomes?  Think about all of the behaviors, tools and ways that you operate each day to deal with risks in your life.

The truth is, humans are curious and seek out risk.  Even if you get to a place where there is a perception that no risks are present, that no risks are over the horizon, we will look for new adventure, new learning and ways to adapt to a new environment.  So what really is the top priority for a parent, big brother/sister, manager, instructor, chief executive, commander or other organizational/constituent leader?

To create an environment of trust.  In a place where people have the ability to create the rules, teach the rules and operate within the rules.  Think about any environment where humans can't create the rules, or rely on the rules.  Where they are not effectively communicated or where people don't follow the rules.  Trust breaks down and uncertainty permeates our consciousness.  The decisions to trust become questionable.

Your goal, is to become a "Linchpin".  As Seth Godin has described in Linchpin:  Are you Indispensable?:

"Is there anyone in an organization who is absolutely irreplaceable?  Probably not.  But the most essential people are so difficult to replace, so risky to lose, and so valuable that they might as well be irreplaceable."

How many linchpins do you have on your team?  Guess what?  If everyone is so specialized, so vital and there is little or no backup and redundancy, you may have a single point of failure.  This is why as a linchpin, you need to be continuously training and teaching to be replaceable.  If you are not confident that you have done all you can do, to become replaced, then you as a linchpin have failed.  Your resilience factor is zero.

Your tasks will create more redundant linchpins and you shall create a consistent and highly trusted environment, physical or virtual.  A changing environment is inevitable.  Achieve a culture where trust is paramount and the team, class, cohort, company and community that creates the rules, communicates the rules, enforces the rules and follows the rules.

We as curious humans seek out unpredictable places, full of risk and simultaneously we wish the environment can be trusted?  Yes we do.

Onward!

LADDER: Protective Security Specialists…

How long does it take for a lethal attack to occur against an At-Risk person?

Just 2 Seconds is the best selling book by Gavin De Becker. Along with his long time colleagues Tom Taylor and Jeff Marquart, they document how to use time and space to defeat adversaries.

There are some compelling insights gained from their research:

• In the US, attacks are most likely to be undertaken by lone assailants 87% vs. outside the US where attacks are typically the work of multiple assailants 71%.
• Attacks in the US are about as likely indoors (53%) vs. outdoors (47%).
• However, 64% of attacks happen when the protected person is outside in or around the car and 77% of these attacks are successful.

Most of these happen within a distance of 25 feet or less using a handgun. Corporate executives and their Protective Security Detail (PSD) already know these statistics and have trained together for these increasing risks.

Many have adopted the LADDER model from “Gavin de Becker & Associates” training academy:

> L ogistics

> A dvance

> D istance

> D eterrence

> E vacuation

> R esponse

The study of the motives and the psychology of why these actors pick their targets and choose the time and place has become a science. The methods and tools to assist corporate security in predictive analytics requires a substantial baseline of historical data and real-world experience.

Over 30 years ago Gavin and his team developed the MOSAIC Threat Assessment system. It is now in use with dozens of police and government agencies to help authorities and “Protective Security Details” to be more proactive and preemptive.

Protective Security Specialist’s (PSS) today are certified professionals utilizing intelligence in combination with the attributes of Time, Mind and Space to provide safe and secure travel for their clients.

The Science and the Art have converged to provide a fusion of data, strategy and ad hoc tactics to ensure the mission is completed without incident.

The profession doesn't stop there. Some Operational Risk Management firms who have these certified individuals on staff, go much further in their training and their vetting of employees.

We agree and recommend that you add these questions to your due diligence when obtaining Request for Proposals (RFPs) from these firms:

• Review all policy documents the firm has their personnel sign to become a PSS on staff.
• Review the firms hiring process and the prerequisites to join the firm.
• Review the operational standards and operating procedures to ensure 24 x 7 x 365 capabilities.
• Review the 3rd party agreements that encompass any transportation and private aviation suppliers.
• Review the firms technology and communications infrastructure including Internet, radios, information systems security controls and privacy countermeasures.

The profession has come a long way and people like Gavin de Becker & Associates have for decades established the baseline for others to compete. High net worth individuals, movie stars, public officials and corporate executives have much at stake and require comprehensive strategy execution.

Think of every assassination like attack you've ever heard about. For most people, a few of these major ones come to mind: Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Anwar Sadat, John Lennon, Israel’s Prime Minister Rabin, Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto.

From start to finish, all of these attacks — combined — took place in less than one minute. And the hundreds of attacks studied for the book, all of them combined, took place in less than a half-hour.

Those thirty minutes, surely the most influential in world history, offer important insights that can help today’s protectors defeat tomorrow’s attackers...