Security Catalyst Office Hours Recap for March 19, 2021

by Michael Santarcangelo on March 22, 2021

We welcomed some fresh faces and old friends to another brilliant discussion this week. During the “tell me something good” opening, we landed on how the power of reflecting on value set off a remarkable journey… and we dove right in.

Here are the ideas and insights we explored this week

Reflecting on Value

Simple prompts to reflect on value: Where is the value? And how has it changed since starting?

“Asking them to evolve is also asking them to evolve me…”

Want to get better security? Get better at marketing and selling…

Prompted by the challenge of helping people take ownership and action on security issues, we explored the parallels to marketing and selling. Different considerations: AIDA, models on how people change, and the 5-step sales process. It’s all about moving from lack of awareness to understanding and through to the place of action.

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The Catalyst Method – what’s really important to you?

Shared the process of The Catalyst Method (5 minutes a day, the same five questions, five days in a row) to help people discover what’s truly valuable. This helps people figure out what’s really valuable to them by helping them see their current situation differently. It’s a key step in mapping and easing the process of change.

“Self awareness is the foundation for situational awareness which leads to critical thinking, which allows creativity.” ~ Tony Blauer

Do people buy security? Or do they buy the outcome?

They buy the outcome. Which means we’re all in sales and marketing. Ultimately, this is good, and I think it holds a lot of promise for our industry. The opportunity — for everyone — is to better diagnosis the current situation, paint a picture of a better tomorrow, and help build the maps for people to follow. Simple, difficult – but entirely possible.

Security leaders by from vendors who educate them with ideas and insights

We explored the power of sharing your ideas and know-how for free. By leading with value and helping security leaders better understand situations, problems, and changing landscapes, companies build their “know, like, and trust” factor. And it’s lead to several deals along the way.

This is important for security vendors to embrace. This is equally important for security leaders to embrace as they serve their internal and external clients.

And what kind of content do people like?

“I’ve never shared a video,” but routinely share articles, text, and blog posts. The consensus was the power of the written word still shines through.