Are you familiar with your Information Security Policy? You probably should be... here's why

In our ever-expanding age of digital transformation, information security and compliance are critical for businesses of all sizes to protect their customers' data, guard against cyberattacks, and remain compliant with regulatory requirements.

SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) infamously struggle with adopting policies and being prepared to respond to cyber-security incidents when they occur. The apparent logic here is because SMBs usually need more funding to invest in dedicated personnel who can respond to incidents and need access to the same level of technology as larger organizations.

When one stops to think about this for a moment, it's scary to consider that many of the apps or technologies we interact with every week likely fall into the bucket of SMBs with limited ability to make your data their top priority. The purpose of this article is not to scare you away from small businesses or to put any group of companies on blast. It is instead a reminder of the responsibility of all of us, as IT and business professionals, to recognize the data we are handling and ensure we build and configure our systems as securely as possible.

One of the most crucial steps businesses of any size can take will be implementing policies relevant to the organization and capable of being followed. Information Security policies are essential for businesses of all sizes and are generally a foundational step for establishing many other programs. Policies Establish clear guidelines and boundaries and help protect organizations from loss or harm caused by unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of confidential or sensitive data. A security policy outlines the standards and procedures an organization implements to ensure its data and resources are adequately protected. In addition to protecting the company's physical and digital assets, a security policy will increase customer confidence in the business.

To all my colleagues and professionals reading this; review and update your security policies, make sure they are relevant, and if your company does not have something in place, there is no better time to get started than now.

Let's Normalize NOT Working on Vacation

All of us in the current business world have heard the adage, "I'm never disconnected; my phone is always on." It's to the point where this is a cliche topic, particularly with many of our careers becoming fully remote. The diminishing line between being "at work" and "not at work" has become increasingly and perpetually blurred to the point where it is up to us as #leaders and individual contributors to enforce the #worklifebalance. To be honest, work-life balance is a concept I've struggled with understanding. Like many of you, there's a TON going on in my personal life, a TON going on in my 9-to-5, and a good bit going on in my other business activities. Trying to properly "balance" all of this would be a 4th commitment I'd need to throw into the list. But here is where I'm going with this. It pains me to see my colleagues, peers, direct reports, managers, or just strangers in the airport, unquestionably stressed and 100% engaged in "work" while on "vacation." Now granted, there are times where YOU are the only person who can handle a situation, and addressing it right then is the best move to get your vacation time back on track. Like Tupac said, "It's just the way it is." But here is where you put yourself in the driver's seat to establish the #boundaries for that work-life balance.

• Will this significantly impact your career or company results if you handle it whenever you are back in the office?

• Why can't you delegate this to someone else? (this is a different topic I may address later).

• Are the kids or loved ones going to remember this interruption as you working on vacation? If so, is it worth it?

• Did you remind the person on the other end of the Slack message phone call that you are on vacation or it's after hours? If not, do so. This tidbit of information deserves to be part of the conversation.

• Are you taking this call merely to help someone else out? If so, why? Refer back to the first two bullets in this paragraph.

I could sit here and write many more bullet points and sub-bullet points into this list, but the fact is, before fully engaging in work while you're not supposed to be working, break the habit of instant response. Instead, stop and consider what that quick reply will lead to and weigh how valuable your response will be to the conversation. More often than not, a simple acknowledgment suffices until you're back in the office.

Start building high quality leaders, Now!

Have you ever searched for the topic of "leadership" in business books on Amazon? Would it surprise you to know there are more than 60,000 titles on the matter? Why does the "self-help" section of your favorite book store have such a vast selection of books to guide you in working on yourself? If anyone were reading all these books and applying their new found knowledge, we'd have a #banger corporate world chocked full of managers crushing the game.

I'm going to start out by saying, very distinctly, I am not the world's best boss, far from it. But, I am no different than the best or worst boss you've ever had… and neither are you. Here's why: People generally suck at leading others or even making solid decisions for themselves. First, think of all the taskmasters and flat-out shitty managers you've faced throughout your career. Now compare the number of these individuals to the number of inspiring influential leaders you've encountered. Unfortunately, I believe for many of us, we've crossed more paths with the former.

As I progress in my journey of managing teams or even raising my own small children, one of the most gripping notions that I've picked up on is the desire for these adults and "miniature adults" to demand the same human concepts that most of us want from our supervisors. Humans feel most comfortable in knowing several fundamental pillars of leadership.

• We want #autonomy (my 4yr old more than most).

• Your team members want well-defined #boundaries so they can test out that autonomy and understand precisely how far it goes. As they mature, so do these boundaries and levels of autonomous activity.

• Individuals must be given #responsibility, which is fundamental to using that autonomy in making decisions and encountering associated consequences or rewards.

• Strong leaders display #empathy and understanding that what is important to one is worthy of being important to others.

• There must be a de facto leader who not only has the #competence to set a clear and attainable vision but also has the #courage to execute on the goals and actions required to turn that vision into a reality (this often leads to power struggles, and leaders can change, which is entirely natural, but out of scope for this article).

These "pillars" do not require training courses or inherent philosophy shifts (although learning more about great leadership is a solid plan). The truth is, so many of us get caught up in the whirlwind and quickly lose sight of how influential we can be to those around us by simply acknowledging the straightforward concepts described and applying them at every opportunity. Start by making a habit of letting this become your management style. Before long, your team will pick up on your new skills and begin adopting pieces of them as their own leadership style. Boom! Just like that, you're building future leaders and establishing yourself as a memorable and inspiring leader who is on their way to crushing the game.