Spicer Resigns – What Should the Face of Crisis Look Like?
With breaking news of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigning today allegedly due, in part, to the newly announced White House Communications Director not having communications experience, we thought it might be appropriate to share a chapter of “The Art of Crisis Leadership” (Weinhold & Cowherd, 2016). When You’re the Face of Crisis You know them as spokespeople, press secretaries, public affairs reps, flacks and spin-doctors—that last term evoking the same warm and fuzzy feeling with the American public as “ambulance-chaser” and “wife-beater.” When a crisis engulfs their company, corporation or governmental agency, they stand in front of a bank of microphones and, with white-hot TV lights winking on and cameras rolling, they stare out into a sea of skeptical media faces and attempt to deliver a timely and coherent response on behalf of their employer. I’ve learned from so many incredible communicators who are able to perform spectacularly under duress. It is an art, not a science. Like wine, one gets better with age; there is no substitute for real experience. The best spokespeople I know are obsessive about each syllable they utter, each piece of clothing they wear and each message point they deliver. They call reporters back, treat them all fairly and never, ever compromise their integrity – they understand what reporters need and make themselves relevant to those who have editorial control. The best learn how to steer clear of organizational jargon, are detail-oriented and compassionately deliver the news in a conversational way that quickly and emotionally connects with those who consume their words. They are analytical, well-timed and process loads of information, almost instantaneously. And, they are never too high or too low – they have a steady hand under pressure no matter the gravity of the situation or tightness of deadline. And, in the event they run into a “loose-cannon” reporter, they’re able to manage the situation with the grace and humility of a verbal judo artist. And with a Peyton Manning-like approach, the best are incredibly prepared, informed and always find a way to hone their craft. You want them on your team as they understand the big picture – it’s what they do best – see the whole room. It can be a thankless job. Yet, it is an absolutely vital one. As a spokesperson, you are the generally the most frequent ambassador of your company’s brand. You are the reputational gate-keeper for your bosses and colleagues and stakeholders. Bottom line: you better not screw it up, as you can lose your job with one syllable. The pressure can be enormous, particularly with the 24-hour news cycle of today’s world. At no time was this lesson driven home to me more vividly than in the hot summer of 1997. At the tender age of 31, I was the newly-appointed public affairs director for the Baltimore Police Department when the sensational case of Charles M. Smothers II unfolded. I was returning from a vacation in Ocean City on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, when another of the department’s spokespersons called. The spokesperson had urgent news. There had been a police-involved shooting at Lexington Market, the historic indoor market downtown. An officer had shot a man with a knife. The scene was now extremely chaotic. Angry crowds were milling about. “What should I do?” the spokesperson asked in the midst of a brewing public safety crisis. “Describe what limited amount of information you have to the news media—we have to have wiggle room, as facts will evolve with each minute,” I said. “Describe what happened as some type of interaction between the responding officers and the suspect. Say that detectives are going to comprehensively investigate and interview witnesses. We need to find out more before we can talk specifically about what happened.” My modus operandi and firm teaching point is to ask as many people as possible about the facts in an evolving case, knowing there could be varying accounts. Then, when the factual stars begin to align with consistency, you know you have a solid foundation with which to stand publicly. Credibility is key. I was about to hang up when another thought occurred to me. “Whatever you do,” I said, “avoid action-oriented terms like ‘lunge’ or ‘acted aggressively’ to describe what the suspect did.” Again, what experience taught me is that very early on in police-shooting investigations, Public Information Officers, or PIOs, should never box themselves into a set of facts or circumstances that will almost always change. I wasn’t being some kind of schoolmarm-ish stickler for grammar here. I just knew we didn’t have all the facts. Characterizing the encounter without knowing exactly what took place would be irresponsible. Plus, it could potentially blow up in our faces if we used what would later prove to be the wrong words. The department spokesperson called back a short time later. She informed me that she’d done some preliminary interviews with the media. In a sheepish voice, she added: “I kind of got tripped up. And I used the word ‘lunged.’” Hearing this, I winced. “OK,” I said. “But let’s not use it anymore. And we’ll see what else transpires here.” The last thing I wanted to do was erode her confidence, as she had been the point of contact prior to me arriving back in town. I still had one more day of vacation left, so my wife and I attended a friend’s house party that evening. At some point, I learned that the officer involved in the shooting was Charles Smothers and that the man with the knife had been identified as James Quarles, now lying mortally-wounded in a hospital. But the party would hardly be a festive, care-free time for me. At a few minutes before the 11 p.m. newscast, I received an urgent call from an assignment editor at WBAL-TV (the NBC affiliate) who was about to go live. “Rob,” he said, “we have video of the Lexington Market shooting.” I was stunned. For the first time in memory,
Hope Without Leadership Accountability Is Meaningless
By Rob Weinhold I did yet another interview today with the local CBS affiliate about Baltimore’s escalating homicide rate in a city that is losing populous by the week. By many accounts, this may be the deadliest year on record – Baltimore remains in crisis. Candidly, I hesitate doing these types of local and national interviews as it is personally draining to continue to lend perspective about a perceived sense of long-term hopelessness and despair in a city I care deeply about. But that’s just it…there is hope. Comparatively, a very small number of violent people are incrementally destroying a city, so it stands to reason a very large number of determined, empowered people can solve the problem. Everyone says they want to reduce crime and improve the quality of life. But there’s a big difference between wanting to and getting it done. Leaders must have BOTH the skill and the will, with grit in their belly. One without the other is certain failure. There is not one contributing generational factor that led our city to this point, but one thing is certain – without hope, engagement and real opportunity, many will continue to suffer and/or flee a wonderful city built on centuries of discipline, hard work, honesty and results. I’ve said many times, the first order of leadership is to provide a safe place to live, work and raise a family. If public safety fails, everything else follows. There is no amount of money, recycled quick-fix programs or tired stump speeches that will solve the city’s ills without an effective crime fighting strategy (along with the ability to fully execute). In sports terms, the best playbook in the world won’t win a world championship unless the team, individually and collectively, is able to gel and execute. It all starts with accountability. I believe effective leaders fully embrace five core disciplines – they know how to: Teach Communicate Motivate Empower Hold People Accountable Whether crime fighting or starting a company, there must be clarity in vision, goals, strategies and tactics. The old management mantra, “what gets measured, gets done” is alive and well. Goals must be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time sensitive). Without the measurement of and accountability for results (crime, profitability or wins/losses) why should anyone have faith in a system that generates the same results? Is Baltimore wrestling with the wrong strategy, an inability to execute or both? This isn’t about one person; it’s about a system. Long-term success is not “hero-driven,” it’s “systems-driven.” Baltimore’s healing process will outpace any appointment term or time in elected office stopwatch – the public safety system must be optimal so future leaders can plug and play, with incremental modification…not for the sake of credit, but within the spirit of results. Look at any stat – homicide, sentencing, incarceration, recidivism…there is a reason many police departments have a photo on file of most everyone they are looking for – they are repeat offenders. Why? Lack of accountability for the most serious, violent people who live among us. Maryland’s governor was quoted in today’s Baltimore Sun as saying: “Probably one of the biggest parts of the problem is that 60 percent of all of the people that are arrested and charged and prosecuted for committing crimes with guns in the city are let out into the streets. They don’t serve time,” Hogan said. “It’s the same people committing the same kinds of crimes over and over. It’s a problem, not with the policing, but with the state’s attorney’s office and with the court system.” If accurate, no wonder the confidence of many Baltimore’s residents is shaken. One calls to report a gun violator at 6 PM and after a quick visit to Central Booking, the offender is back on the corner at 6 AM. And longer-term, the gun violation ends-up being just another line item within a lengthy rap sheet. Different day, different results – not yet, the system is broken. But, who developed the system? People. Who can fix it? People. There is hope. In my view, an effective crime fighting strategy is similar to a three-legged stool. Each leg represents a vertical of concentration – enforcement, prevention and treatment. If each discipline is not fully resourced and effectively executed, the entire system fails. There are obviously many contributing factors to long-term success or failure, but marshaling every resource possible is critical, whether it lie in the category of funding or faith. What is accountability? It’s putting your hand up and taking ownership and responsibility for your lane. Whether executive, legislative or judicial, the players must gel and execute. Otherwise, there is certain failure. I am an optimist and I believe there is hope, but hope alone is not a plan. One person, one decision, one outcome at a time will drive favorable momentum. Baltimore didn’t get into this overnight and certainly won’t get celebrate success by sunrise tomorrow. I’ll end my rambling with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” If all of us really want to make a positive difference and hold ourselves accountable, the tide will slowly turn and Baltimore will be recognized for its true, amazing fiber. Do your part; you know what it is.
An Amazing Internship Experience
By Josh Z. Earlier this year, I walked into my first day at the Fallston Group not knowing what to expect from a new internship. I ended my experience with many important takeaways and now realize what I will sadly leave behind. The Fallston Group team has taught me many lessons. I have learned a variety of innovative marketing tips and PR strategies that I can, of course, apply to any future job that I am fortunate enough to attain. However, the most important (and unexpected) lesson I have learned is how to be resilient and live through adversity – not just survive, but thrive. I can now apply this to any future job that I may hold, but, more importantly, can now embrace this concept in everyday life. I think that even though it was crucial for me to take specific business lessons from this internship, having the grit and fighting through adversity is my biggest takeaway from this amazing team. As Mark Twain said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Working with this group (and its client base) showed me to never give up no matter the circumstance and that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, you must simply leverage your instinct, experience and network to find it! Everyone in the office was welcoming and has had a tremendous impact on my time at Fallston Group, but I would say that the core executive leadership team has taught me the most important lessons that I will apply to my future career. As a rising Senior at Loyola University of Maryland with a double major in finance and marketing, my goal is to become a top executive of a company. The executives, both directly and indirectly, took their valuable time to teach me everything about becoming a professional and brand ambassador to everyone I interact with. I have learned firsthand that actions certainly do speak louder than words, and I will try to take-away everything this talented team has taught me. Hopefully, one day, I become a high-level executive. Interestingly, I can hear it now…I used the word “hopefully” when referring to my dream…the Fallston Group team would demand I use the word “when!” As I depart, I cannot stress enough how professional and great they are at what they do. I will miss them dearly and I wish them the best of luck with all their future endeavors. If you ever want an outstanding professional internship experience, I’d highly recommend the Fallston Group. I know it’s competitive and demanding, but this time has been invaluable to my academic and professional development. Thank you.
5 Takeaways from the Council for Professional Women in Business and Finance Conference
By Kathy Walsh, Director of Marketing Recently, I was fortunate to attend the Maryland Bankers Association‘s Council of Professional Women in Banking and Finance (CPWBF) Fifth Annual Conference, and while I’m not a banking or finance professional, I still walked away from the day with pages full of tips gleaned from their impressive line-up of speakers. While I could write an entire blog post on each of the incredible presenters, out of respect for our readers’ time, I’ve whittled them down to the top five takeaways from the day that I’ll be putting into action in my personal and professional life! Engage your team. Among the many fascinating workforce statistics shared by Dr. Shirley Davis, CSP, President and CEO of SDS Global Enterprises, was this: only 32% of U.S. employees say they are “actively engaged” at work. 52% report being disengaged while another 16% consider themselves “actively disengaged.” What are we doing to ensure our organizations are in that elusive top third? This is even more important as millennials are poised to become the majority of the workforce and as Generation Z enters the picture. Balance “fight or flight” with “rest and digest.” According to Dr. Jyothi Rao of Shakthi Health and Wellness Center, our bodies’ stress response causes inflammation associated with virtually all chronic illnesses. To counteract this, Dr. Rao recommends tactics including healthy eating, sleep, getting 10,000 steps a day and mind/body techniques such as yoga and meditation. One immediate action I plan to implement: downloading the free Headspace app she recommended as a great way to get in 10 minutes of meditation a day. Spend each day focused on what matters most. I’ve written about balance before, and it sounds obvious, but at the end of the day, it won’t matter what you achieve in your career if you don’t invest the same energy in nurturing the relationships you have outside of work. I was reminded of this as I learned about London’s Legacy, a nonprofit which delivers comforting blankets and care packages to pediatric intensive care units and which was the beneficiary of MBA’s 2017 Philanthropic Initiative. Take a few minutes to read the story behind this organization and be reminded about what really matters. Avoid “download data dump” meetings. This was one of the lessons I couldn’t wait to bring back to my own organization. AmyK Hutchens, owner of executive development firm AmyK International Inc., suggests maximizing your team’s brain power by asking attendees to send a brief report before a meeting that summarizes information the group needs to know and identifies areas in which they need the team’s brainpower. Then allocate ¼ of the meeting to reviewing the data and spend the remaining ¾ problem solving. Genius, right? Make your difficulties desirable. These words of wisdom came from the extraordinary Melissa Stockwell, the first female soldier to lose a limb in active combat and a recipient of both the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. Both a patriot and athlete from a very young age, when Melissa awoke from her injury and subsequent surgery, she immediately realized she had a choice in how to react, and dedicated her life to turning tragedy into triumph. Melissa went on to compete in both the Beijing and Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, receiving a bronze medal for her triathlon performance in Rio and being selected by her fellow Team USA athletes to carry the flag in the closing ceremony in Beijing. Today, she runs Dare2tri, a nonprofit that provides opportunities to youth athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments. She attributes her success to a promise she made: to live her life for those who no longer could. Her “I get to” rather than “I have to” attitude is one we should all emulate. I thoroughly enjoyed the day spent with some incredible women professionals, and hope you are able to glean some practical advice from this blog that you can apply to your daily life.
Why Help DaddyOFive?
Many people are asking, “Why would Fallston Group support a controversial client like DaddyOFive?” Thank you for your interest and questions, they are very important to us. A little background: when Fallston Group was contacted at the end of last week, we were briefed by an attorney who was working with the Martin family and by the Martin family themselves. In fact, our team went to the Martin’s home to interact with the entire family, including the children, for more than three hours before agreeing to take the family on as a client. Following this meeting, we had a choice to make – (1) walk away due to the fact that the mistreatment allegations from the public and the videos were very troubling or (2) engage with a set of parents who each put their hand up, said they were wrong, showed true remorse (with a lot of tears) and clearly didn’t know where to turn or who to trust to get the help their entire family so desperately needed. Fallston Group was founded on helping people during life’s most difficult times – we thrive on helping people. It’s baked into our DNA. We work with clients who range from very large public companies to small restaurateurs and individuals. We routinely manage complex and controversial issues including data breach, cyber-attack, social media attack, negative press, natural disaster, bankruptcy, crime, litigation, investigation, compliance issues, employee relations complications, job loss, labor unrest, audit sanction, IT issues, board dissension, poorly managed mergers, environmental damage, workplace violence, whistle blowers, IP theft, rumors, death, terrorism, riots, accidents, health issues, strikes, product recall, regulatory shifts, competitive disruption, hostile takeovers, abuse, poor leadership transition, discrimination and many, many more. The one common thread, regardless of the type of issue or the client type or size, is that if the client is willing to accept full responsibility for any lapse in judgment and desires to take whatever steps are needed to make amends and set a positive path for the future, it shapes our thinking. The Martin family fell squarely into this category. That being said, what our team initially recognized was a family who truly seemed to love each other but was in crisis and desperately needed stability and a return to normalcy for the kids. We absolutely do not condone some of the content that has been posted to YouTube. But under the circumstances, we did have an opportunity to positively influence a distraught family with our experience, instinct, resources and mentorship, particularly the children. After much discussion and evaluation, our team decided to help this family through what they describe as the most difficult period in their lives and as they strive to set things right…it’s what our company commits to do with our clients. This is not a PR play, but a very serious crisis management situation which requires a broad, long-term view within our three core verticals. The video apology released this past weekend was at the request of the family who wanted to articulate to the world how they felt, but didn’t feel they had the resources or knowledge to know how to effectively relay that message. The production was not scripted. The Martins described in detail how they felt, and the cuts and fades simply reflect editing to eliminate redundancy and keep the remarks to around three minutes. There is no question the Martins, in light of the public concern, took another look at the content they had shared through the eyes of people who don’t know them personally, and upon reflection, recognized the error of their ways. They now fully understand that they crossed the line and they describe how what started out as family fun quickly escalated into shock value for the purpose of viewership and subscriptions. They were caught up in their own characters and popularity – they were blinded by YouTube fame and again, upon reflection, made some very poor decisions. Our hope, moving forward, is that the public will take pause and realize the devastating effect the internet backlash is having on the kids. While we (and truly, the Martins, as well) appreciate the concern for the children’s safety, we can offer assurance that Maryland agencies, attorneys involved and our own company have all executed due diligence to ensure the children are safe, both physically and emotionally, and on the way to a much more positive future. This is everyone’s first priority. The Martins are currently in licensed family counseling and working with professional services providers who, in essence, serve as life coaches. We fall into that category as well. As a firm that has worked with very high profile leaders to struggling private individuals, there is perhaps nothing more important than to provide perspective and a sense of hope for the future. The path forward is critical as many of our clients simply want to return to some semblance of normalcy. This is what the Martin family wants (all of them) and we are committed to helping them during their plight. Make no mistake, the Martin’s desire does not replace parental accountability. But, it is a firm step in the right direction for five wonderful children. Our sincere hope is, as part of the professional team guiding the Martins, we can support them as they continue to work towards a life which involves very sound decision-making and a strong sense of peace and happiness.
Take the Mystery Out of Twitter – 6 Tips to Give You the Digital Edge
By Andrea Lynn, Marketing Communications Manager Are you using social media to your advantage? One of the most common areas of confusion I see in the professional online community is Twitter. Under-utilized and often overlooked due to lack of understanding, Twitter is one of the easiest ways to increase your company’s community and media awareness. Here are 6 tips to give you an edge: Know the language. Don’t be confused by basic Twitter terminology – to “tweet” is simply to send out your message (in 140 characters or less). This platform encourages shorthand and slang; the key is to be quick and concise, not worry about complete sentences! How easy is that? Know where you’re @. If you’re tweeting about a particular product or company, or want your message to reach a specific person, be sure to use the “@” symbol followed by your message target’s Twitter handle (aka their username). This can also help expose your brand to a new market. Make friends with hashtags. It’s also important to understand hashtags, which are often misused. By putting the “#” symbol in front of a word, you are making it a searchable keyword. Your Twitter homepage will show you the current trending keywords on the left-hand side of your screen. Using these trending hashtags, if relevant to your message, is a great way to increase your overall tweet’s visibility. You can also create your own to start using on a regular basis. Follow your intuition. Ready to start using your new or stagnant account? The next step is to target which users to follow on Twitter. General best practice is to follow other companies in your industry, as well as any business in your target demographic for customers. (Extra hint: if you are looking for ideas for who to follow, go to your competitors’ profiles and follow relevant accounts!) Don’t forget the media. Additionally, be sure to follow reporters who work at news channels where you would like to pitch stories! Gone are the days of slow news and assignment desks waiting for breaking news via a phone call. News today is 24/7, and Twitter is one of the main platforms used by the media to track trending news. After you’ve followed reporters on Twitter, get to know them. A reporter is more likely to respond to a pitch tied to their “beat” – that is, the type of news they cover. By interacting with local, national and even international news outlets regularly on Twitter, you have the opportunity to gather intelligence, build relationships and become a trusted resource for relevant news. Make your brand shine. Finally, keep in mind that Twitter, like any other social media channel, is a reflection of YOUR brand, whether you’re tweeting from a company or personal page. Keep your messaging and visuals consistent, and make certain your profile is up-to-date and links back to your website. Tweet me at @AndreaLynnFG to share your news! And if you need help, not to worry – feel free to give me a call at Fallston Group at 410-420-2001 or email andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com. #Tweetwithconfidence #demystifyingTwitter
Fallston Group Director of Marketing Kathy Walsh Named 2017 ATHENA Award Winner
ATHENA Leadership Award winner Kathy Walsh, director of marketing at Fallston Group, center, stands proudly with Young Professional Leadership Award winner Paige Boyle, director of marketing and customer relations for Boyle Buick GMC, along with this year’s finalists. Photo credit: Robin Sommer. Baltimore-based Fallston Group, a global reputation agency, is pleased to announce that Kathy Walsh, the firm’s director of marketing, has been named this year’s ATHENA Leadership award winner. The ATHENA Leadership award is presented to an established leader who demonstrates excellence in business and assists women to achieve their absolute full leadership potential. A veteran marketer and business leader, Walsh has more than 25 years of experience in strategic marketing, branding, public relations and marketing communications. Prior to Fallston Group, Walsh owned JigSaw Marketing Solutions (named one of Baltimore’s fastest growing woman-owned businesses in 2013 and 2015) and spent 10 years working in consumer products brand management in the toy industry. She has served on numerous committees for various organizations in both a professional and personal capacity. Walsh is also a passionate advocate for mental health, serving on the board of a local mental health nonprofit, on the Harford County Mental Health & Addictions Advisory Council and working as a QPR suicide prevention training instructor. A native of Baltimore, Walsh holds an undergraduate degree in mass communications with a concentration in journalism from Loyola University and a master’s degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. “To be recognized as a finalist is an incredible honor among so many accomplished business women. To win speaks volumes about Kathy’s lifelong body of work,” Fallston Group Chief Executive Rob Weinhold says. “However, what was most touching to me was the human moment of watching Kathy’s daughters admire and celebrate their mom while recognizing the extraordinary impact she has had on many others’ lives.” “It is a tremendous honor to be named this year’s ATHENA award recipient, particularly from such a highly-qualified group of finalists, each of whom are successful professionals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, mentoring and dedication to our community,” says Walsh. “For me, the most gratifying part about being a part of the ATHENA program was having my two teenage daughters present to see just how much positive impact female leaders can have on the community. I hope this inspires them and others in the next generation to make a difference, each and every day.” Walsh was honored at the annual ATHENA Leadership award breakfast organized by the Harford Community College Foundation on Friday, March 3. In addition to the ATHENA Leadership Award, the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award was awarded for the first time to Paige Boyle, director of marketing and customer relations for Boyle Buick GMC. Proceeds from the event will help fund the ATHENA Leadership Scholarship. Please direct all media and interview requests to Fallston Group’s Marketing Communications Manager, Andrea Lynn, at 410-420-2001 or by email at andrea.lynn@fallstongroup.com.
Why It’s Time We Stop Chasing “Work-Life Balance”
Written by Director of Marketing, Kathy Walsh How many times have you heard people refer to “work-life balance?” Google it, and you’ll find literally millions of results: “6 Tips For Better Work-Life Balance,” “Rethinking the Work-Life Equation,” “The Link Between Work-Life Balance and Income,” “The Six Components of Work-Life Balance,” –the list goes on and on. It’s clear this is a topic that strikes home for many of us in the workforce who struggle to juggle the demands—and opportunities—of our professional careers along with personal goals and priorities, whether families, hobbies, friends, passions, etc. Yet despite the plethora of information out there on how to achieve that elusive “ideal balance” of work and life, I don’t know of a single person who has ever achieved it! Over the course of my 25+ year career, I certainly haven’t, and I personally think it’s time we all stop chasing that unrealistic goal. In fact, I’m choosing to approach the subject from a whole new perspective, and when I shared that perspective recently with a group of a few hundred area business professionals, the positive feedback I received was so overwhelming, it prompted me to share it via this blog as well. Here’s what I said: I think of balance as a seesaw rather than a tightrope: sometimes you are up high in the air wondering if you are going to fly off, sometimes you are ricocheting off the ground after a hard landing, and both of those can be more exhilarating than wobbling to stay balanced in the middle. At the end of each day, do I feel good about what I did and who I showed up for, whether it was my job, my family, my friends, my social causes or myself? The trick is being mindful of where you are needed most that week, day or moment and then aligning your priorities in the context of those needs. I’m certainly not saying I have all the answers, but I do have one personal sign I’m on the right track: when I recently asked my two teenage daughters if they thought my executive position, which requires I travel to Baltimore each day, impacted our family in a negative way, I got an unequivocal “absolutely not” from both of them, which makes me feel like I’m doing something right! So my advice is, don’t try for sustained balance, but embrace the seesaw ride and the next time you’re hitting the ground, push off, hold on tight and soar back up to the sky, guilt-free!
If I Knew Then…
Written by Meredith Lidard Kleeman at Crain’s Baltimore. The Mistake: When I founded the company seven years ago, I didn’t establish the business systems so that people could join the team and plug and play. Instead, I was having to mentor or teach everyone who came to the organization. While it may be fun to do, it can certainly be very exhausting. I was not a coffee drinker before I started the business, but I reached two plus cups of coffee a day and had no time to do anything I liked to do. Around that time I went to a meeting with other business owners, and we were all commiserating about how there’s no such thing as work-life balance, it’s work-life blend. I recognized this about myself and realized I needed to change. Because the business is fairly unique, it takes experience and instinct to serve the client. Once our business verticals became more broad, it would have benefited me and the business to focus more on developing systems, instead of just waking up and running through the jungle all day trying to get everything done, trying to complete all the work that’s on the priority list. The Lesson: The greatest lesson that I’ve learned is that success is systems driven, not hero driven. It’s a really important lesson because so many of us try to focus on results, and shoulder a very heavy burden to reach a goal instead of using the resources around us. If you’re consumed by your business and you’re obsessed with your business in such a way that you never, ever want to let anyone down, that’s a really good quality. But there’s a lot of ways to work within a system so as to meet more people’s needs rather than just relying on your own bandwidth. As an expert in this field, I would have benefited much more quickly from accelerated growth had I taken the time to invest and teach others, rather than be the expert and carry the business for a number of years. Eventually I did take the time to really work with and teach those around me, so that we were all oriented and moving in the same direction, versus everyone running hard in their own lanes. By making those changes the firm had the ability to handle more clients and more client requests, and I had two of the most important things that a business owner needs to accumulate — time and money. I think most small business owners are technicians first. It’s not easy to move from being a technician, to managing and then leading a business. Many of us get caught up in performing the work and working in the business instead of on the business. And when you finally reach that point of exhaustion, then you realize that you need to be able to delegate and empower others to do the work and grow. But that only happens when you have sound, adequate systems that can support growth, and particularly the quality with which you want to create output. Originally published by Crain’s via their ongoing “If I Knew Then…” series.
CTI’s The Evolution of Ransomware: Paying the Price in More Ways than One
Written by Kayla Twain, Marketing and Communications Specialist at Continental Technologies, Inc. The good ol’ days of ransomware are far behind us. The traditional, “I hack your system, encrypt your data, and send you the key if you cough up the cash” model is evolving at an alarming rate. Hackers are getting creative and customizing their approaches based on your business vertical. Sometimes, paying the money is just one of the many costs associated with a breach. When hackers will stop at nothing to infiltrate and exploit your business, how can you possibly keep up? CASE STUDY: RANSOMWARE COMPLETELY SHUTS DOWN OHIO TOWN GOVERNMENT Just this past week, a ransomware attack brought systems in the government offices of Licking County, Ohio to a halt. Frighteningly, this included systems at the local police department. According to an article on TechCrunch, “The county government offices, including 911 dispatch, currently must work without computers or office phones” and “the shutdown is expected to continue at least the rest of the week.” It was suspected that an employee, unaware of the common attack vectors for malware, clicked a malicious link in a phishing email. Within minutes the damage was done. As is the case in many ransomware horror stories, the Licking County government was forced to pay the ransom demand to expedite recovery and return their police and other critical departments to full functionality. Attackers are after more than just your data. It is critical to keep this in mind when cataloging business assets and creating a plan to defend your organization. EMPLOYEES: YOUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE When a digital attack is waged on your organization, it is natural to want to defend your network in a similar way. Companies wonder, “What systems do we have in place in our digital environment to protect us?’ Words like, “firewall” and “antivirus” come to mind. What most organizations fail to address is the human element. Your employees are the first line of defense against a hacking attempt. Have you educated them on what a phishing attack looks like, or not to click on potentially malicious links in emails from unknown senders? It is critical to involve your staff in a “Security Awareness Training.” For more information on CTI’s Security Awareness Training, click here. Additionally, keep the lines of communication between your IT Department and the rest of your organization open and transparent. If there have been attempted hacks on your system, let your organization know so they can be prepared. What they don’t know can hurt your company. ASSESSING YOUR NETWORK BEFORE THEY DO Mapping your IT environment is key to protecting your organization. If you don’t know where your vulnerabilities lie, how can you ever expect to fix them? Security Assessments help you identify and fix vulnerabilities in applications and infrastructure that can lead to a compromise of your sensitive data. Risk Assessments determine which of your information resources require protection, and identifies steps to mitigate risk. Originally published by CTI via their online blog.
