• 11 May 2011

    The new IT skill you *must* develop

    Yesterday I had lunch with some colleagues who are lawyers that focus their work in/around compliance, intellectual property and cloud computing. It was neat to hear their perspective on where things are headed in IT. We came to the conclusion that IT professionals are going to have to learn as much as they can about the legal side of what we do.I'm not talking compliance in general but also contracts, ...

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  • 03 May 2011

    My security speaking engagement this week

    Today I'm prepping and practicing for my Predictive Security event with TechTarget and CDW in Los Angeles this week. Really psyched about the show and visiting LA - I've never been.How I feel reminds me of the following quote from Whit Hobbs:"Success is waking up in the morning and bounding out of bed because there's something out there that you love to do, that you believe in, that you're good ...

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  • 19 Apr 2011

    Learning is a choice

    "If your intent is to learn, you almost always do learn." - Richard CarlsonLike when we see what we want to see, we learn what we want to learn. This is important for our careers in IT and infosec but also provides a great way for us to become better people....

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  • 15 Apr 2011

    Be wary of the well-certified IT pro

    You may have read that Gartner projects IT spending to increase in 2011. It's great news that may lead to hiring new staff or at least new consultants for your IT and information security projects....Just proceed with caution and don't fall for the "I'm certified therefore I'm all you need" persona that's rampant in our industry.There are a lot of people out there looking for work - many of which ...

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  • 12 Apr 2011

    Have no fear and be free

    "The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed." -BuddhaThis is great for personal power, personal responsibility and, of course, information security - just be careful with that "reject all help" bit. ;)...

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  • 01 Apr 2011

    Time management + getting over your job title in IT

    Here are some IT career bits I wrote for TechTarget's SearchWinIT.com that you may be interested in:Time management strategies for the IT proYour title is worthless; your value is priceless This is the best time ever to focus on these things.Enjoy!Also, be sure to check out www.principlelogic.com/resources.html for all of my information security articles, podcasts, webcasts, screencasts and more....

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  • 15 Mar 2011

    Perhaps the goofing off is justified

    I've written in the past about how little we utilize our brain capacity - especially at it relates to goofing off on the job...Well perhaps those folks goofing off know something that I didn't. According to the Department of Labor and BTN Research:The average productivity of the American worker (defined as output per hour of work) has increased 30 percent over the past decade (i.e., 2001-2010). Mathematically this means the ...

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  • 07 Mar 2011

    The real secret to career success…in any market

    I often hear stories and radio commercials about the tough time college graduates are having right now finding work. In a recent bit, some recommendations were to work harder and get online because you've got to find a way to stand out in the eyes of potential employers in this market.Yeah, yeah...anybody can do those two things. But let's back up. There's one thing that most people don't do: it's ...

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  • 02 Mar 2011

    Two career essentials: time management & hands-on experience

    If I had to choose two things that IT and information security pros need to focus on more than anything else, it'd be learning how to manage your time and continually fine-tuning your technical skills.Well here are two pieces I wrote for SearchWinIT.com that that delve into these topics:Time management strategies for the IT proLow-cost ways to get the IT skills you need...learn these skills and practice them over and ...

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  • 28 Feb 2011

    Security talent ≠ security success

    Here's one of those great quotes that applies directly to infosec:“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” -Stephen KingThere are plenty of people who understand security architecture, hacking and related technical issues but few who really get the essence of risk and have taken the necessary steps to make information security work in support of the ...

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