Recently I was chairing a Cyber Security event in London, with a group of CISO’s, putting the world to rights one challenge at a time. We were lucky enough to have a masterclass around the promoting one’s brand and how we as CISO’s can be more effective in the way we promote not just our discipline but also ourselves. It was probably the very first time, I have, in such a setting expressed in part my fear of never commenting on-line, Facebook for sure – probably don’t have the insecurity from the community of friends I have and would have never dared writing a blog, or even taking the risk of posting something here.

The fact of the matter is, I consider myself to be a constructive but disruptive force within the industry. I see lots of people writing lots of things, some good and some not so! With mostly all of us in some way shape or form becoming armchair critics – it is easier in most cases to point out what is wrong with something rather than to promote what is good. But more importantly I realised if I want to re-shape the debate, become the change I want to see and start to challenge the way in which we practise cyber security, you actually have to be in it.  So I wanted this, my very first post to more than just another cyber security blog. So putting one of my biggest fears aside I thought I would share this.

I am dyslexic, taken from the Greek word, Dyslexia translates to mean “Difficulty with Learning” Something I have always struggled with. Be that at school or the several attempts at completing my degree or even a few attempts at completing a master’s programme. It was always very clear to me that I would have issues academically and to say it has had an impact on me professionally is an understatement. It is a fear that has really haunted me for most of my adult life.     

More so in a professional setting when producing a piece of work, which maybe rich in content however full of errors making no sense to anyone else. Overcoming this has never been easy, mainly with the assistance of my colleagues who are kind enough to proof check important pieces of work. Being a leader in a field where the way you communicate is just as important as they content you produce this is not always a viable solution – and firms are not really set up to help you either in that way. What I say verbally may not actually come across in the same way when written. It can take a significant amount of time and effort – with reading again and again what you send out. In the world of the instant response – sometimes expected it can be hard to keep up with myself.   

This fear has stopped me from ever expressing myself professionally on-line – the fear of not wanting to express an opinion in case you misspell something, take a phrase out of context or are producing work that is grammatically incorrect. You can be looked at as unprofessional, sloppy, lacking common sense or down right incompetent. This fear can be crippling which in a way has prevented me ever voicing my views and opinions on-line. Though I do not have the “problem” when I speak in public (some that know me may probably not agree!)

I share this – as maybe my experience of procrastination also knowing that there are always ways to overcome your fears, for me, l want to focus on what matters, which is the content and the debate and worry less about being able to spell something correctly!

So to all of those geeks (including myself in that label happy to say), the little of very quirky, the eccentrics, the non-conformist not part of corporate culture (whatever that means) seen as different, are different or even think different – well you are not alone. Embrace that difference, because that is you. It is okay to be different. Though there are many drawbacks to being Dyslexic there are also some positives as we think differently. We are creative, having strong visual and problem solving skills. Which are prominent amongst world leaders, entrepreneurs, inventors, engineers and Cyber professionals? I am sure I don’t stand alone.  Take the risk, after all it is something as cyber professionals we understand and advise on regularity!

More to follow.....