I saw an interview today and you may have seen it too. It’s an interview with Jeff Bezos, of Amazon fame. He said that an executive’s role is to make a few major decisions every day. The executive should not be making overwhelming amounts of small decisions.
Believe it or not, FSOs are executives. Don’t believe me, just read the NISS account for your organization and the appointment documents. Therefore, FSOs demonstrating credibility is vital...
Do you agree with his comment?
As leaders, we need to make just a few major decisions daily.
Realize this, you must have a solid understanding of NISPOM before you can make these strategic decisions. NISPOM has to be part of your DNA so that you can lead your organization through national security requirements.
As a company officer, the FSO should be comfortable working with leadership and the government to negotiate demonstrated compliance.
Would you like to have a little knowledge of how to get to this level? Here is just one way you can build credibility and be trusted to make good decisions.
I promised to tell you a story of how I used resources outside of the NISPOM community to increase my understanding of security and stewardship. This initiative gave me the skills necessary to encourage my leadership to invest in necessary security tools and resources.
This was even after they gave me a hard "no" the first time I had asked.
Do you want to know how I did it?
We performed well in security reviews, but I believed another layer of protection was needed.
I believed we needed access control to protect our employees. I approached the leadership about access control possibilities and was met with a hard “no, is this a NISPOM requirement?”
I did not say, “Definitely, it’s a NISPOM requirement”.
Here is what a credible FSO does, are you ready?
I demonstrated that while it was not a requirement, this is why it’s an important countermeasure and how it benefits the entire organization.
I knew something the leadership didn’t. I knew that in the factory, family members, vendors, and others were making unauthorized entry into the building. Each building had 8 doors and they were all open. Guess what else open doors cause? Massive amounts of HVAC expense.
Again, not a NISPOM issue, but I led the company to a strategic decision that resolved both safety issues and HVAC expenses. Believe it or not, the HVAC savings more than paid for access control measures. Problem solved without blaming NISPOM.
Would you like to be able to make similar contributions to your organization?
Professional development and a good library are key. FSOs should not just do the minimum FSO training courses. Continuous study of NISPOM and taking additional training and reading opportunities are crucial to making strategic decisions.
I want to help you with your NISPOM training. I’ve developed NISPOM and FSO fundamentals course. Many others have attended the in person and this online course. and there is room for more. In fact, you can take this training at your own pace and your company may pay for it.
This 20+ hour course is reinforced with lessons from both the old and new NISPOMs. Why, because it’s the same information presented in two different ways. Take the lessons from the DoD NISPOM and then take the lessons from the 32 CFR.
Do you want to know why this is a great idea?
It reinforces training.
Maybe your company won’t pay for it, or you don’t yet work as an FSO. Then I would say invest in your future. One thing about money, is you get to choose what you spend it on. Once you spend it, you get more with your next pay check.
What you can’t get more of is time. Take action toward making strategic decisions and establishing credibility now. Make a decision to invest in your FSO future.
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