Latest / King Dems Podcast | Growth Mindset, Leadership, AI and Business Insights / Cybersecurity and Financial Success: Mastering Business Resilience and Leadership Strategies
Transcript
- 0:00You have built a career around protecting what matters the
- 0:04most, and that is data, people and purpose.
- 0:08So how do you see cybersecurity evolving over the next five
- 0:12years? You know, I think cybersecurity
- 0:13will become more proactive and AI driven with advancements and
- 0:17machine learning, right, enabling real time threat
- 0:20detection and response. That's kind of what I say.
- 0:22I think the focus is going to ship shift towards predictive
- 0:26analytics, right? Automation, more zero trust or
- 0:29architects to counter increasingly sophisticated cyber
- 0:32attacks. You're going to need it, right?
- 0:34The next element of that it's going to be quantum computing,
- 0:37right? I think that's going to play a
- 0:38pivotal role, like both as a challenge but as an opportunity.
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- 1:21Welcome to The Kingdom's podcast, where growth mindset
- 1:25meets leadership and business insights.
- 1:28Get insights from top entrepreneurs, professionals,
- 1:31and thought leaders. Visit kingdomspodcast.com.
- 1:34Fuel your mind. Your next breakthrough starts
- 1:37here. We live, ladies and gentlemen,
- 1:40you all once again, welcome to the Kingdoms podcast.
- 1:43And today I have with me from the other side of the pond, Phil
- 1:48Novak. How are you, Michelle?
- 1:52I am fantastic. How are you doing today Do.
- 1:56You want do you want the default answer or you want the authentic
- 2:00answer? Default answer is I am.
- 2:02Well, I'm fine. You know, I'm doing great, but
- 2:06default answer is rather authentic answer is I'm
- 2:09recovering from a few, but Michelle Novak cannot go back.
- 2:14We have. So we have to record this one.
- 2:17We have to record this one. You know, your journey is so, so
- 2:22weak and layered, from hospitality and finance to cyber
- 2:27security and authorship. So what has driven your
- 2:32evolution over the years? Great.
- 2:34Question, right? Wow.
- 2:36My evolution has been driven by commitment to growth, right?
- 2:40Refusal to settle and a passion for helping and thrive others,
- 2:44right? Like I think hands down, each
- 2:47phase of my journey, whether it's been in the hospitality
- 2:50industry, finance industry, cybersecurity, becoming an
- 2:54author has been about learning for me, adapting and then
- 2:59stepping into all challenges with a purpose, right?
- 3:04Purpose driven. I think that's most important
- 3:06for me. Well, Speaking of evolving and
- 3:10adapting, you have won so many hearts.
- 3:14You know, you're that person, the core, the proverbial Jack of
- 3:19all trades. But then you are a master of
- 3:22some. You know, you say Jack of all
- 3:25trades typically is usually a master of none, but that's is
- 3:30actually a false statement. You could be a master of some
- 3:34and of course you have mastered, you know, quite some.
- 3:37And you're always talking about leaving your best life.
- 3:42So what does leaving your best life really mean to you?
- 3:46You know, for me, living your best life means owning your
- 3:49choices, right? And embracing, embracing every
- 3:52opportunity that's out there and aligning your actions really
- 3:55with your core values, like who you are, right?
- 3:58Living by a standard that is beyond what you can imagine,
- 4:04right? And never, never, never, never,
- 4:06never give up, right? It's about removing negativity,
- 4:09paving the path for others, paying it forward, right?
- 4:13Inspiring others and creating that life of abundance where you
- 4:16can live fully like, you know, authentically.
- 4:18I love the word authentically. And you used it, right, with the
- 4:21sense of purpose. I'm always going to drive back
- 4:23with a sense of purpose every single day.
- 4:26And I think the most important thing for me is living the best
- 4:28life as being the family and having a strong faith.
- 4:31Strong faith, my friend, right? Strong faith, I love that.
- 4:35Yeah. I love that I'm I'm a man of
- 4:38faith, you know, without faith is it's impossible to please
- 4:42God. And my faith is Christianity out
- 4:45of ways. Hebrew 11/1 says faith is the
- 4:48substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
- 4:51And I think it, it went further in that chapter to say that
- 4:56Abraham had faith and it was counted unto him unto
- 4:59righteousness. And of course, first of all,
- 5:01without faith, it's impossible to please God.
- 5:03Speaking of opportunities, you you do talk about, you know,
- 5:06harnessing opportunities. And one opportunity that you
- 5:10have quite harnessed is cybersecurity.
- 5:15So you founded Cardinal's Bite to help small businesses to
- 5:20navigate cybersecurity challenges.
- 5:24So why do you think so many small businesses still overlook
- 5:28the importance of digital security and what is at stake?
- 5:34That's a loaded question, right? Many small businesses, I think,
- 5:37overlook digital security because they assume they're too
- 5:40small to be targeted, right? Or they believe cyber security
- 5:43is too complex or too expensive. They have no idea the worth,
- 5:46right? What's at stake is everything,
- 5:49right? Client trust, regulatory
- 5:51compliance. When you talk about that and the
- 5:53survival of their business, 63% of all small businesses are
- 5:58attacked in the first year. And out of those, 60 go out of
- 6:01business because of it, right? If not prepared, a single breach
- 6:06can lead to devastating financial and reputational
- 6:08damage. And I think that's why many
- 6:11small businesses overlook it. You know, they don't understand
- 6:15it. They don't understand the
- 6:16benefits. You know, I know that from
- 6:17speaking with my clients in the educational piece.
- 6:20Actually lies to something. I like to say.
- 6:22When the use of something is unknown, abuse is inevitable.
- 6:27Yeah. So yeah, you can't blame a lot
- 6:32of small business owners has no, you don't know, but ignorance is
- 6:38not admissible in the court of law.
- 6:41So we have great individuals like yourself putting the the
- 6:45the word out, you know, sensitizer and small business
- 6:49owners regarding that importance of cybersecurity specialise in
- 6:55breaking down the compliance in layman's terms.
- 6:58So what are the top 3 misconceptions that small
- 7:02business owners have about cybersecurity compliance?
- 7:07Misconceptions, right? I would say compliance equals
- 7:11security. Many people think meeting a
- 7:13standard is enough, but compliance is not just a
- 7:16baseline, right? They think, you know, you
- 7:19download your Malwarebytes or whatever it is that will protect
- 7:24you from, you know that you have, you know, antivirus loaded
- 7:28and you you're protected against everything.
- 7:30So that's probably one of the first misconceptions, right?
- 7:34And security is, is only an IT issue.
- 7:38I get that a lot, right? Like, well, the IT guys will
- 7:40take care of it. It's a business wide
- 7:43responsibility, right? It involves policies, training,
- 7:47leadership. You have to have to have it
- 7:50built into your posture in your Business Today, right?
- 7:54Just like you would be planning for sales, you need to plan for
- 7:57cybersecurity. It's that essential, right?
- 8:01And then again, I'm going to go back to we're too small to be
- 8:03targeted, right? Cyber criminals often target
- 8:07small businesses because they're perceived easy to breach.
- 8:11They know that they don't have the training and the
- 8:13infrastructure. They know that they can send a
- 8:16phishing e-mail to them. They're going to click on that
- 8:19link. And then before you know it,
- 8:21right, your system is stopping to run because they know that
- 8:24they don't know what they're looking for.
- 8:26So that's probably another misconception, right?
- 8:29But again, it's there's so many of them out there.
- 8:33I would say those are my top three though.
- 8:36Hey, so you've actually spoken about the misconcept, the
- 8:40misconceptions, right, that small businesses have regarding
- 8:44cybersecurity. But you and your team at
- 8:49Cardinals Bytes, how do you tailor solutions for SM, ES and
- 8:54industries such as accounting, law, insurance, professional
- 9:00services? You know, where data sensitivity
- 9:04is very, very paramount. Yeah.
- 9:07So we tailor a lot of different things.
- 9:09I mean, basically the most important thing in cybersecurity
- 9:13is to identify the gaps and the risk, right?
- 9:16So the first thing that we do is we go into any business and we
- 9:20identify their security posture. Once you identify that, we come
- 9:24up with a plan based on many risk factors, right, just
- 9:29depending where it is in cyber. So most of the time though,
- 9:34what'll happen is, is the majority that we target will be
- 9:37like multi factor authentication, right?
- 9:40How they handle backward updating software systems,
- 9:44right? What systems can be exploited?
- 9:47We take a look at the vulnerabilities of those
- 9:49systems. We take a look at their
- 9:50software, we take a look at the infrastructure from being sound
- 9:55to not sound, right, to be physical security as well.
- 10:00Sometimes when we're doing a risk assessment, it's not only
- 10:03about your networks and your websites, it's about your
- 10:08physical security, right? Like, do you allow people to
- 10:11just walk in and walk around and can they see information on your
- 10:14computers? Can they plug in a USB?
- 10:16There's a lot of different elements to it.
- 10:18And then we do education, security awareness, right?
- 10:23Teaching people what to look for, because that's important.
- 10:27But that's, I think that's very, very important because a lot of
- 10:30people don't even know what to look for, right?
- 10:34And I think that's where we start.
- 10:36You know, I have clients that are just singular, right?
- 10:41One person and some, I think my largest client has about 900
- 10:46people, right? So you know, what's needed for
- 10:49that one client versus someone who has 900 is completely
- 10:52different, right? So we tailor it, we tailor those
- 10:56solutions based on what they need, right?
- 10:59It's going to be a whole different ball game for that one
- 11:02person versus the 900 and the needs of that organ.
- 11:06But for businesses that have limited budgets, what practical
- 11:10low core strategies would you typically recommend for them to
- 11:16stay protected and compliant? So I work with some businesses.
- 11:19I mean, I'm always about helping the community.
- 11:21It's not all about money. And I believe that, right?
- 11:23Sometimes you, you know, you have a smaller businesses who
- 11:26are just starting out, they need to get compliant.
- 11:29I share the resources. There's free resources out
- 11:31there, whether it be through the federal government, through the
- 11:33state that will actually help them get compliant, right?
- 11:37I'll start them off. Sometimes they do risk
- 11:39assessments for them and I don't charge them because I want them
- 11:42to learn. I want them to build that
- 11:45security trust posture. So this way they have
- 11:48resilience, they understand it. So the state and federal
- 11:53government, I mean, here in the US, they have tonnes of
- 11:55resources that are free that small businesses can actually do
- 11:59and implement themselves and they don't have to pay for it,
- 12:02right? If you have a smaller budget,
- 12:05right, we're willing to work with you.
- 12:07You have to be able to work with people and there's a lot of
- 12:10tools out there. I think the biggest thing is, is
- 12:12it's so overwhelming. You don't know what you need,
- 12:15right? So I think what scares a lot of
- 12:17people is to like, I need a cyber security plan, but they,
- 12:24they don't know how much it's going to cost them.
- 12:25And then they go online and you start doing the research and we
- 12:27all go down the Google rabbit hole, like I like to call it.
- 12:30And you know, you're not really sure.
- 12:31And then you become overwhelmed and you're like, oh, this is
- 12:34going to be too expensive. And you talk yourself out of it
- 12:36when you really need it, right? So it's, I think just getting in
- 12:39touch with the right person and doing your own research and not
- 12:42going down that rabbit hole. But listen, the average for a
- 12:46small business can cost, I say a couple of 100 to a couple of
- 12:531000, right, on average. Interesting.
- 12:58Yeah, it's a very broad range just depending on what you need
- 13:01and that you know. But again, there's a lot of free
- 13:04resources if you're limited on budget.
- 13:06The most important is implement multi factor authentification on
- 13:10anything you have implement VPN. I'm going to tell you that right
- 13:14now. Backup, backup, backup your data
- 13:18regularly, right, So you have a landing point.
- 13:22Educate your employees or do some, you know, YouTube, go on
- 13:26YouTube and say, you know, give me videos on, you know,
- 13:29cybersecurity training. They're free, right?
- 13:31Educate so you know what you're looking at with emails because
- 13:34that's the biggest way they get in, right, sending scam emails
- 13:37and invest, right? Invest in a cost effective
- 13:39measure. You know, it's power mount,
- 13:43right? If you get a breach, again, it
- 13:45could put you out of business, right?
- 13:46You don't want to lose your client's trust.
- 13:48Your data is your. A lot of people don't understand
- 13:52that, but the data that you own is what they're after.
- 13:55And that is your biggest asset, right?
- 13:58It's not just an ex, it's not just an expense, cybersecurity,
- 14:02It's a safeguard for the longevity and trustworthy of
- 14:05your business. You have to have that.
- 14:07You lose trust, you lose everything.
- 14:09Exactly, you're talking about the Google rabbit hole and
- 14:12you're reminding me of an older friend of mine.
- 14:15She will know herself from this. I shout out to you, she calls
- 14:20herself a Google patient when a doctors tell her to do this.
- 14:24Is this that she's always going to Google to go search her
- 14:28symptoms everything and now goes to the doctors.
- 14:33The doctors are frustrated like are you?
- 14:39Are you, are you the patient or the assistant doctor?
- 14:45Let us know and then she said put on how far the Google
- 14:50patients and. Then Google patients, listen,
- 14:53you know, I, I mean, I know somebody who does the same
- 14:56thing, like right to it, right, like, and they know better than
- 14:59the doctors. So like, listen, I mean, we're
- 15:02all at fault. We love Google, we love these
- 15:04tools. I mean they're great.
- 15:05They help us, right, Chat GPTAI, all of that.
- 15:07But you know, you can go down a rabbit hole.
- 15:09That's what I always say. So are you, are you, are you
- 15:13advising your clients to become Google patients?
- 15:17Yeah, no, no, I think what I'm advising them of is reach out to
- 15:23your local cybersecurity person, right, whoever it might be, and
- 15:26ask the questions, gain knowledge, right?
- 15:2920% of my knowledge, someone else doesn't know, and 20% of
- 15:34their knowledge I don't know. And that's what it's about.
- 15:38Just educate yourself, reach out, ask the questions.
- 15:41A lot of these websites have chats.
- 15:42Ask the questions, of course, you know people are out there to
- 15:46sell, right? You know, you're in business,
- 15:47you want to have products, but that's not what it's about.
- 15:50Well, for me anyway, Axe call, you'll get the answers that you
- 15:54need. I mean, small businesses need an
- 15:57infrastructure in New York where I am, I mean, there are state
- 16:01requirements that you have to be certified for certain fields and
- 16:04licences. So it's, you got to know the
- 16:06regulatory end of it. Cyber is so big today.
- 16:09You've got to protect yourself and your clients, right?
- 16:12Because you can be sued. And you know, unfortunately,
- 16:15it's tough out there. It's rough out there.
- 16:17And these cyber criminals, they're becoming more and more
- 16:21prevalent, right? So.
- 16:23Exactly, let's talk about mindset and transformation.
- 16:28You have written your book and it is about mindset right?
- 16:34Shifting your mindset into into one days of abundance.
- 16:39So what might achieved changed everything for you personally
- 16:43and professionally, Yeah. So I, I think the biggest shift
- 16:48was realising that I have the power to my own choices, right?
- 16:52And to create my own reality. I think that was the biggest
- 16:54thing, right? By letting go the fear and the
- 16:57negativity, understanding what made me who I am and allowing me
- 17:04to focus on growth and resilience and living
- 17:06authentically kind of helped me realise where I needed to go.
- 17:11We've all that book is about identifying who you are as a
- 17:17person, right? And I had to unknown me and
- 17:20understand that I need to love myself first.
- 17:24I think first and foremost, if you don't love yourself, then
- 17:27you don't have direction, right? You got to love yourself.
- 17:31So I think that for me is what shifted understanding that.
- 17:35Something I really appreciate about you is the fact that
- 17:37you're very big on faith. How does faith and mindfulness
- 17:41and abundance play together in the mix for success as a tech
- 17:48entrepreneur and as a mentor for you?
- 17:51Faith keeps you grounded, right? I'm going to say that again.
- 17:55Faith keeps you grounded. That's how it's done it for me,
- 17:58right? It keeps me grounded.
- 18:00Mindfulness helps me stay focused right in the present and
- 18:05not in the past. And the abundance reminds me to
- 18:09approach each challenge with gratitude, right and
- 18:12possibilities. It's hard to approach the it's
- 18:17hard to stay grounded, be mindful, stay in the present and
- 18:23have that abundant mentality without that opportunity to be
- 18:26grateful and understand that you have possibilities every day,
- 18:30right? Together, I think they fuel my
- 18:32purpose and drive to build something meaningful.
- 18:35And I think that's, you know, my next phase of my life is that's
- 18:38I want to build, you know, you have a business, but you want to
- 18:41build something meaningful that helps you.
- 18:43You know, my next phase is mentoring others, helping people
- 18:46along their way and giving back. So I think that's how, you know,
- 18:50my faith has played a role where I am today.
- 18:53So what piece of advice would you give to somebody that is
- 18:57facing the fear of entrepreneurship?
- 19:01I'm stepping out. Alone.
- 19:02So I just wrote a book about this not so long ago, Overcoming
- 19:06your fear as an entrepreneur and solopreneur, right?
- 19:08And being a game changer. That's the name of it, right?
- 19:12Fear is natural, right? Let's just say that fear is
- 19:14natural for everybody, right? But you can't let it paralyse
- 19:18you, right? Start small as an entrepreneur.
- 19:23Start small. Embrace learning and trust that
- 19:28every step forward, no matter how uncertain, is progress.
- 19:32I think that's the hardest thing.
- 19:33Somebody's stepping out. You've got to know that.
- 19:36Surround yourself with supportive people, right?
- 19:39People who are going to believe in your vision.
- 19:41I know a lot of big people say this, but it's so important.
- 19:46Get rid of the naysayers. Cut them out.
- 19:49Cut them out of your life, right?
- 19:51You know, in my book, I hope you, I, I have this one question
- 19:55and I say, why do brilliant ideas die in silence of someday,
- 20:00right? Embrace being a game changer,
- 20:04right? What if the secret, right, just
- 20:07putting it out there. What if the secret to launching
- 20:09your dream was about more information, right?
- 20:12Wasn't about information, but about confronting the hidden
- 20:15fears that you hold. That hold you captive inside,
- 20:18being honest with yourself, looking in that mirror.
- 20:21Fear is here. You put it in your mind.
- 20:24What you tell yourself is what you do.
- 20:27And it's that simple. It's that simple.
- 20:31And I think if people understood that, we'd see a change.
- 20:35Just then reminds me of the acronym that I have of here
- 20:39False evidences appearing real. Beautiful, Beautiful.
- 20:45It's a great acronym, you know, I like it.
- 20:48I'm going to use it. It's.
- 20:51Going to. Use it.
- 20:53It's a great. I wish I would have thought of
- 20:56it. OK, we, we can both use it then
- 21:00we can, we can both use it. Well, I call you a champion of
- 21:05resilience, you know, But what's that personal moment where you
- 21:11have had to rise above chaos and keep going?
- 21:15But rise above chaos, I'd say. When I transitioned to
- 21:19cybersecurity, right? I faced imposter syndrome big
- 21:23time. I'm telling you, I definitely
- 21:26had it. And it was a steep learning
- 21:28curve, you know, into a new industry, right?
- 21:31Instead of giving up, though, I leaned in.
- 21:33I leaned in hard. I found myself a mentor, right?
- 21:36I sought mentorship. That really helped me understand
- 21:39that I am resilient. You know, it reminded me, it
- 21:42reminded myself that growth happens outside of when you're
- 21:46not comfortable right outside your comfort zones.
- 21:51That challenge became the foundation, I think for my
- 21:54success today because I just leaned in hard like it was
- 21:58tough, right? Cybersecurity is tough.
- 22:01The industry is tough. It's, you know, women in
- 22:04cybersecurity. It's even that that more
- 22:06tougher. I mean, we've made great
- 22:08strides, but this is a long way to go.
- 22:11So I would say that's probably one of the hardest times or to
- 22:14transition in my life that I rose above.
- 22:16But you're actually admirably reason above the chaos, and not
- 22:24just for yourself. You are an inspiration to others
- 22:29across the globe. You are an inspiration to me,
- 22:32and you are highly appreciated. You're welcome.
- 22:37You've been a leader. You know, both in corporate
- 22:40America and as a business owner, they are the most important
- 22:45leadership lessons you've learned.
- 22:48Of course, the two domains. You know leadership is about
- 22:52empathy, right? It's about empathy,
- 22:55adaptability, and leading by example.
- 22:58Those are the three things that I've always learned, right?
- 23:01You're not above. Leave the title at the door and
- 23:05drop the ego, OK? In corporate America, I learned
- 23:08the importance of clear communication and decision
- 23:10making, right critical thinking. And as a business owner, I think
- 23:15I realised that empowering others, fostering trust and
- 23:19staying true to my vision are the key to build something
- 23:25impactful. I think that's probably where I
- 23:28would leave with that. I love the part we talk about
- 23:32leading by example, reminds me of something a leader I, I
- 23:38admire a lot from my time at Peter to say.
- 23:44And interestingly, he, he was on this podcast sometime last year,
- 23:49told Ratulikey. You know, he, he keeps talking
- 23:52about what is important is not the example of your power or the
- 24:01power of your example. He's absolutely right.
- 24:05You're on. Show spot on with, you know, it
- 24:08aligns very much with you know what what you're saying.
- 24:10What's really important is the power of your example.
- 24:14And yeah, 7 leaders are always the best leaders right from time
- 24:19immemorial. Jesus Christ, Prophet Muhammad,
- 24:24Mahatma Gandhi, name any great leader.
- 24:27What has always been powerful is the power of their example and
- 24:30their service to humanity. We'll talk about collaboration.
- 24:36You know, what role has collaboration and community
- 24:40played in your growth? And how do you recommend leaders
- 24:46building intentional network? When I think about
- 24:51collaboration, right, collaboration and community have
- 24:54been instrumental in my journey that has, I mean the hands down,
- 24:58I think what kind of is important to me in the growth of
- 25:01it is mentorship or partnerships and shared knowledge have shaped
- 25:05my path. Like without that, I don't know
- 25:09if I would not have given up. I recommend leaders building
- 25:15intentional networks right today.
- 25:18It's about being intentional, inviting in those again that are
- 25:22going to be authentic, offering you value and seeking A diverse
- 25:26perspective is important. It's so important because it
- 25:31gets you out of that comfort zone.
- 25:32It gets you thinking, it gets you engaged.
- 25:36It gives you more than just a relationship.
- 25:38And that relationship needs to be rooted in trust and mutual
- 25:42growth, right, To create those opportunities for everyone
- 25:44involved. So I think for me, that's kind
- 25:48of what I would add there as far as collaboration, my community,
- 25:52community we're trying to build like one of my journeys is with
- 25:57my mentor is build a community for cybersecurity specialists,
- 26:01right, to learn and grow. Like we don't see much of that
- 26:04out there. So it's important to do that
- 26:07today. You mentioned earlier about how
- 26:12male terminated the cybersecurity space is.
- 26:15There are women like yourself who are making strides.
- 26:19So what's your message to the young women out there who are
- 26:24trying to break into that space of cybersecurity?
- 26:31My first and foremost message is you belong here, right?
- 26:34You belong here. Don't let stereotypes or self
- 26:37doubt hold you back because that's in your mind, right?
- 26:41Don't let the doubts fear you and your unique perspective is
- 26:45your strength. Always know that, right?
- 26:48Seek mentorship, stay curious. I think for me, never stop
- 26:53learning, right? Constantly learn.
- 26:57You know, the tech world needs more women.
- 26:59I I truly believe that who are ready to be innovative, lead and
- 27:03inspire the next generation, you know, but believe in yourself.
- 27:09You got it. Follow what you have.
- 27:12That's what I was saying. I'll just say one more time, you
- 27:14belong here, you know. But you have beautiful career
- 27:18around protecting what matters the most, and that is data,
- 27:24people and purpose. So how do you see cybersecurity
- 27:28evolving over the next five years?
- 27:29You know, I think cybersecurity will become more proactive and
- 27:33AI driven with advancements and machine learning, right,
- 27:35enabling real time threat detection and response.
- 27:38That's kind of what I say. I think the focus is going to
- 27:41ship shift towards predictive analytics, right?
- 27:45Automation, more zero trust or architects to counter
- 27:49increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks.
- 27:51You're going to need it, right? The next element of that, it's
- 27:53going to be quantum computing, right?
- 27:55I think that's going to play a pivotal role like both as a
- 27:59challenge, but as an opportunity.
- 28:01I was just at the cybersecurity Summit 2-3 weeks ago and then
- 28:05we're talking a lot about quantum, right?
- 28:07It's going to be driving the need for quantum resistant
- 28:09encryption while opening doors to faster and more efficient
- 28:13data processing, right? We see it today.
- 28:16It's incredible, right? So I think that's what you're
- 28:18going to say, right? I think innovation and trends
- 28:22that excite me and a lot of it is the things that you can do
- 28:28today. The technology is so advanced
- 28:33that it's a game changer, right? You know, it's can automate
- 28:38anything. You can automate anything today.
- 28:41Think about that where it took maybe 30 people to process
- 28:44filing your taxes, I don't know, right?
- 28:47You know, you press a button and it's done in seconds, right?
- 28:50So think about the revolution and the encryption, the data,
- 28:54you know, the transformation of that, right?
- 28:55The evolution of it all. You know, how we, how are we
- 28:58going to data? How are we going to resolve, I
- 29:03guess, you know, problem solve, you know, at an unprecedented
- 29:06scale? I think that's where it really
- 29:08is. You know, I think that's what
- 29:09excites me and what I'm going to see and evolve to, right?
- 29:14I think that's tremendous actually.
- 29:17Yeah. The capacity of AI is really,
- 29:20really massive. We'll see what the future holds,
- 29:24you know, Speaking of what the future holds looking ahead,
- 29:27right? What do you think you want to
- 29:31achieve with your company in the foreseeable future?
- 29:35You know, every year as a company, he sits out and you
- 29:37say, OK, what's my strategy for next year, right?
- 29:40That's, that's very important to do now where you want to go?
- 29:43So that question, it's one that I kind of contemplate very hard.
- 29:47But I think for Cardinals bites for the company, right?
- 29:50The focus on community education, you know, we're
- 29:52committed to giving back to the community by mentoring young
- 29:55women. And I think that's going to be
- 29:56my drive this year, right? Even more so than it was last
- 29:59year. And driving cybersecurity
- 30:00education, I think, you know, aiming to educate small
- 30:04businesses one at a time, one at a time, right, on proactive
- 30:08cybersecurity measures is another focus that I have for
- 30:11the future, you know, and then obviously engaging in podcasts
- 30:15like this, right, Putting it out, creating webinars, you
- 30:19know, getting more information out.
- 30:22Yeah, getting the information out like, you know, on social
- 30:25media and leveraging and raising awareness is really kind of what
- 30:29I want to do. And sharing actual insights and
- 30:32then AI driven initiatives, right?
- 30:35We're developing AI powered programmes to enhance risk
- 30:38assessments by utilising the models that you know, in the
- 30:41frameworks of Nast, ISO 7 hundreds and the MITRE attack to
- 30:46identify those gaps. And the programme will automate
- 30:49compliance reviews and streamline those protocols,
- 30:51right, ensuring businesses remain aligned to regulatory
- 30:54compliance. So it's another focus that I
- 30:56have this year, But again, I think my biggest focus will be
- 30:59building cyber awareness through the communities, right?
- 31:02And then my next book. Ha ha ha.
- 31:06Yeah, definitely. We can't wait for that.
- 31:09But we know you're a very busy woman and we have less than 5
- 31:14minutes with you and we are gonna take you through 5 quick
- 31:19fire round questions. Are you ready to rumble?
- 31:22Hey, Sam. Just a quick.
- 31:25Just a quick answer number 11 mindset mantra that keep you
- 31:30going. This must be quick, right on
- 31:32your choices, embrace resilience and live with a purpose.
- 31:36OK, that's cool #2 favourite cybersecurity myth you love to
- 31:42bust? Small businesses aren't just
- 31:44targeted cyber criminals love easy wins.
- 31:48I like that number. 3A book that changed your thinking, your
- 31:52mindset. Basically book.
- 31:55I want to say Atomic Habits by James Clear, right?
- 32:00It's all about. Small Tito, you're the 2nd
- 32:02guest. You're the 2nd guest measured in
- 32:05that book. Good book.
- 32:07Whoa, it's a great book. Yep, it's about small changes,
- 32:10right? Creating big results.
- 32:11That's what it's about. Wow, that's great. 2nd guest in
- 32:15the span of I think a week or two #4 what's what's something
- 32:21you wish every small business owner knew about risk?
- 32:24I think for me it's probably ignoring cybersecurity risk that
- 32:28can question everything, right? Prevention is always cheaper
- 32:30than recovery, right? Be proactive, not reactive.
- 32:35You don't want to be in that space.
- 32:36You don't want to. You don't want to turn on your
- 32:38computer and have a black screen or your websites go down and I'm
- 32:41going to just share it. I don't.
- 32:42It's supposed to be a quick round.
- 32:44I had a client of mine when known web host was attacked last
- 32:51year. 300 of his websites went down for four days.
- 32:55He was four days of business. So think about it.
- 33:00Right, that sounds stressful. Stressful.
- 33:03Yeah. I'm sweating already if you're
- 33:06in that. Yeah.
- 33:11You know what the 5th and final one is?
- 33:15One word to describe your legacy in the making.
- 33:18I have a word on my mind. I I have a word but I don't know
- 33:21if that's the word I want to use.
- 33:23I'm trying to describe it best I guess.
- 33:24Empowerment, right? One word would be empowerment.
- 33:29Empowerment. Know my word.
- 33:31What's your word? Impact.
- 33:35Impact. Nice.
- 33:38I'll take that one. It's a good word.
- 33:39Whoa. So you take my word away.
- 33:43Why not? It gets your word.
- 33:46Yeah, well, I'm going to disagree.
- 33:48Literally, literally, it's my word, I guess your word.
- 33:51Wow, wow, wow. It's it's it's been quite a a
- 33:55great session today. I always love to see an attitude
- 33:58of gratitude is good attitude. And if someone shares their time
- 34:01with you means to sharing their life with you.
- 34:04So thank you very much for sharing your time and of course,
- 34:07your life with me and my audience.
- 34:11Love and respect to you. Absolutely.
- 34:15We're from the other side of the point.
- 34:16Thank you very much. And of course, to the viewers,
- 34:19please, like, subscribe, share, you know, just make this the,
- 34:26the, this podcast go right to the faces, the eyes or the
- 34:31people that need to see it. And of course, I'll keep working
- 34:34tirelessly to bring in fantastic, tremendous, wonderful
- 34:38individuals like Michelle Novak. Because remember, Michelle Novak
- 34:43cannot go back. Love it, It's by Harvey.
- 34:48Yeah.