Fish stick together ( I said fish stick)

Ecosystem Engineering in Cybersecurity, Pt. 4

In this fourth installment in the series, let’s take a deep dive into the third building block: Alignment

In the first article in this series I had mentioned that this building block is arguably the most important element of ecosystem engineering. My thinking behind this is that alignment is the key to making it all work. It is the source of efficiency, directionality, cohesiveness and quite simply, how to get it all done. It’s part management technique, part engineering philosophy, part product management, but most important, its a way of being. A way of being with your people, a way of being as part of your ecosystem, a way of managing vision and purpose.

Just for the sake of analogy (cause I like analogies), let’s once again borrow from science and the laws of the universe.

(According to the universe and all things matter and energy) Gravity is a natural phenomenon by which all things with mass or energy are brought toward one another. Gravity has an infinite range, although its effects become increasingly weaker the farther away objects are from one another.

(According to me) In the same way that mass and distance have a direct effect on gravitational forces, they can change how effective an engineering organization can be. In this context, when we say mass, we mean the vision (more on this in a minute) and when we say distance, we refer to cohesion. So then, according to the laws of the universe, the more material the vision and the more cohesive the organization, the stronger the force becomes that ties them together. This analogy is a bit dizzying, but I’ll explain. First, let’s start by adding some color to the concepts of vision and cohesion.

Vision: The mission. The direction. The goals. The intended impact. The big picture. The grand puzzle that when assembled, represents the product in its entirety. True leadership requires vision. The ability to conceptualize that grand puzzle and to get people to understand its intricacies and connect to its purpose. Without vision, there is chaos. And while chaos in and of itself is a creator, its product is not always the desired one.

Cohesion: The linking that holds us together and gives us meaning. The attraction between common elements. The bonds between members of a community. The parts represented as a whole. The understanding of choice and its impact on the progress of others. Cohesion happens whether you want it to or not. Managing is the practice of influencing cohesion in order to achieve the vision, done via assuring that the puzzle pieces are minted in such a way, that they are able to come together to complete the product.

Okay, so, how? Perhaps someday I’ll write a book on the subject, but I’ll attempt to capture what I think are the main principles associated with managing in this way. Let’s take a stab at it in no particular order:

1. The vision must exist — It is your job as a leader to establish the vision. Giving engineers the freedom to solve problems is great, but if it isn’t given some universal direction, then it’s just people doing whatever they want with no goal in mind. Understand that a team is a like a jazz band: adapting to tempo and tune, but with direction, not a room full of people playing strange instruments with no orchestration. That would sound terrible.
2. Know your role — Make sure everyone understands their role and encourage your people to debate it as a team. Know people’s strengths, and more importantly, their weaknesses, and make sure everyone else knows as well. Don’t put someone in a job they aren’t a fit for (which isn’t always about subject matter ya know).
3. Nothing is written in stone — The only constant is change. Expect it and be ready for it when it happens. Don’t be pig-headed or passive about the vision. If it’s not working, change it, and don’t be afraid to piss people off if the intention is good. Any grand destination will always require an adaptive journey to get there.
4. Show progress — “Metrics” is not a dirty word. Figure out ways to make measuring things work for your team. Don’t approach it arbitrarily. Don’t EVER do “metrics for the sake of metrics”. Use it as a way to paint a picture of success over time.
5. It’s puzzle pieces all the way down — The work breakdown structure is the key to eating the elephant one bite at a time. Use a methodology to create those puzzle pieces and understand that sometimes puzzle pieces are made up of other puzzle pieces that might actually be made up of other tiny little cute puzzle pieces. Just make sure that over time people have meaningful work to do, the picture becomes more and more clear, and that you have a way to show that.
6. Alignment is as much horizontal as it is vertical — Silos just happen to fall out of hierarchy (which isn’t necessarily bad). You need to make sure that stripes exist across the silos that give people a way to understand impact across the organization. Have a great communications program, do cross-team retros, make sure teams spend time together socially as well as in a professional atmosphere. DO NOT tolerate a lack of transparency.
7. Old problems don’t require old solutions — Engineers want to create. They are the artisans of the future age. There will always be age old problems. The great part of engineering is coming up with new, creative ways to solve old problems.
8. Empower your people — The best thing a leader can do is give the power of decision making to the people doing the work. Lead through helping people connect to the vision and leave it up to them to build it however they see fit. Make sure the problem space is clear. Seek to be understood rather than to be heard. Expect your people to do the same. Provide top cover to avoid politics. And for the sake of the gods, discourage decision making in a vacuum.
9. Perfection is the enemy of good — Break shit. Often. Encourage it. Learn from failures. Do it in a sustainable way. Celebrate discovery. Encourage innovation. Avoid complacency. Drink beer from the skulls of your enemies. That last thing is optional.

So that’s it! That’s all of the 9 things you need to have a well oiled, superbly aligned team of monster badasses at the helm of your ship on its voyage to security ecosystem engineering greatness!

Once again, I’m writing these things to encourage you all to think. It isn’t exhaustive, it’s my musings in the moment, based on my experience in leadership. I want to hear your thoughts, read your comments, and god forbid, be wrong about things. Use your words people!

Join us for part five of the series where we dip into the exciting world of validation! And once again, thanks for reading!