Eclecticism as a model for building a Security Consulting Practice
Eclecticism is defined as “deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.” It’s basically a more refined way of saying “influenced by a lot of seemingly random things.” In many ways it defines the way that I try to move through life. It was a concept constantly re-enforced to me by Ginny Shea (mia mamma) who passed away a little over a year ago. She was thoroughly dazzling with her eclectic art, food, home décor and yes, Christmas wreath decorations. So, suffice it to say, I come by what you’re about to see honestly.
Last Friday, as I was sitting on the back patio of CRFQ headquarters I snapped this photo:
Everything around me congealed into the happiness of this moment: the smell of lilac in the AIR, the feeling my mother was smiling down at me, and the eclectic items in the yard*. Everything came together at once to remind me that this is the plan; not only for the back patio but for solving the complex problems we face in the world of Cyber Risk Management.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given this information, eclecticism is core to how we’ve worked to develop the “CRFQ way.” We have a vast set of experiences (both first-hand and through working with others). Our work is to combine the best of the best of the best of those experiences to solve cyber security and risk management puzzles for you. What this eclecticism means is that we will get the job done and do it excellently. It also means that sometimes, a coffee table might need to move (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the clip).
In the world of Cyber risk Management and Governance being able to bring a number of different (seemingly disparate and disconnected) parties with varying experiences and goals together to form a singular vision of how cyber risk will be managed is the challenge. Everyone knows that the core goal is “make risk number go down and revenue numer go up” but, to actually do that requires business savvy, cyber security understanding, cyber risk management vision, financial analysis and executive communication skills. It also requires some art, and humanity, and fun. In short; it requires eclecticism.
*- These items include:
Labyrinth - an educational toy to develop fine motor skills and a brain teaser that helps with improving concentration, perception and patience
Eclectica – my recently named herb tray featuring pineapple sage, opel basil and chocolate mint
Eclectico – my also recently named pottery replica of a pre-colombian Sinu fertility goddess
Michael Birawer’s stellar piece “Downtown Minneapolis”