The Aspiring CIO and CISO

The Aspiring CIO and CISO

by David J. Gee
Released June 2024
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781835469194

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Book description

Strategically build your brand, master soft skills, and craft a powerful plan, propelling yourself into the dynamic world of executive leadership in the digital technology and cybersecurity domain

Key Features

  • Discover a targeted 90-day plan to set yourself up for success in both CIO and CISO roles
  • Develop essential interpersonal skills to succeed in executive leadership roles
  • Learn survival skills for thriving and avoiding burnout in strategic roles
  • Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Explore the intricacies of CIO and CISO roles with The Aspiring CIO and CISO by David Gee. This book leverages Gee's 20+ years of digital and cyber leadership experience, providing real-world insights, making it a valuable resource for those navigating the evolving landscape of the C-suite.

Tailored to entry-level, mid-level, and senior managers looking to advance to the C-suite, this book serves a unique purpose in the realm of career guidance. The narrative speaks directly to individuals uncertain about their readiness for CIO or CISO roles, offering a personal mentorship experience that goes beyond technicalities. Armed with insights into crafting a powerful 90-day plan, you'll be well-equipped to catapult into CIO or CISO roles successfully. Beyond technical proficiency, the book instills survival skills, ensuring longevity and helping you prevent burnout in these pivotal positions. Additionally, by mastering the art of brand development and soft skills, you'll grasp the interpersonal dynamics crucial for executive leadership. This book is an indispensable guide for ambitious professionals, offering foresight and empowerment to thrive in the digital age.

By the end of this book, you'll emerge with strategic dexterity, confidently steering your career trajectory towards the C-suite.

What you will learn

  • Develop a compelling personal brand for CIO and CISO roles
  • Gain mentorship through expert tips, techniques, and proven strategies to navigate executive leadership
  • Be well prepared for interviews, with insights into interview questions as well as questions you can ask
  • Gain insights into managing high-stakes situations and leading your organization through crises
  • Practice leadership through real-life CISO and CIO scenarios
  • Find out how to establish and leverage professional networks crucial for your advancement to CIO or CISO roles

Who this book is for

This book is for entry-level, mid-level, and senior managers aspiring to ascend to the C-suite as CISOs or CIOs. The book is also aimed at IT and security professionals who want to gain the skills, knowledge, and experience to take on senior executive roles in the digital age.

Table of contents

  1. The Aspiring CIO and CISO
  2. Foreword
  3. Contributors
  4. About the author
  5. About the reviewers
  6. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Get in touch
    5. Share Your Thoughts
    6. Download a free PDF copy of this book
  7. Part 1: Your Journey to Becoming a CIO or CISO
  8. Chapter 1: Starting the Journey to Become a CIO or CISO
    1. Understanding the CIO and CISO roles
      1. The role of the CIO
      2. The role of the CISO
    2. Introducing the CIO career path
    3. Introducing the CISO career path
    4. What is your current brand?
    5. To be a CISO or CIO, what do you need to change?
    6. Summary
  9. Chapter 2: How to Develop Yourself to Be a CIO or CISO
    1. Building your development plan – The SKEB model
    2. Soft skills are hard – Why do they matter?
    3. Understanding the gaps in your soft skills
    4. Summary
  10. Chapter 3: Executing Your Career Path to Becoming a CIO or CISO
    1. Developing your objectives
    2. Building a plan to make you grow and be uncomfortable
    3. Paths to becoming a CIO or CISO
      1. Thinking two jobs ahead
      2. Introducing an algorithm to accelerate your own growth
    4. Exploring career approaches to progress
    5. Reviewing the CIO and CISO interview process
      1. The external CIO/CISO role
      2. The internal CIO and CISO role
      3. Selection as the preferred candidate
    6. Summary
  11. Chapter 4: CIO and CISO Interview Tips
    1. Prework and orientation
    2. The interview
    3. CIO questions that you may be asked
    4. CIO interview questions for you to ask
    5. CISO questions that you may be asked
    6. CISO interview questions for you to ask
    7. Summary
  12. Part 2: What to Do in the First 90 Days
  13. Chapter 5: CIO – The First 90 Days
    1. Understanding the need for a 90-day plan
    2. A brief overview of my first CIO 90-day plan
    3. Exploring People in the 90-day plan
      1. What does success look like?
      2. Understanding key players
      3. Creating your brand
      4. Engaging your peers and staff
      5. Assessing and building a team
    4. Exploring Process in the 90-day plan
      1. Understanding how IT engages a business
      2. Establishing personal key metrics
      3. Accelerating business learning
    5. Exploring Technology in the 90-day plan
      1. Reviewing the IT strategy and strategic projects
      2. Fixing critical hygiene issues
      3. Understanding Ops and Security
      4. Sending the right message
    6. Building your plan for the first 90 days
    7. Asking yourself the hard question
      1. What are the show stoppers?
      2. Rinse and repeat
    8. Summary
  14. Chapter 6: CISO – The First 90 Days
    1. A brief overview of my CISO plan for the first 90 days
    2. Exploring People in the 90-day plan
      1. What does success look like?
      2. Understanding key players
      3. Assessing the cyber team
      4. Building your future team
    3. Exploring Process in the 90-day plan
      1. Understanding how Cyber engages the business
      2. Establishing risk metrics
      3. Accelerating business learning
      4. Understanding cyber governance
    4. Exploring Technology in the 90-day plan
      1. Reviewing the cyber strategy and roadmap
      2. Understanding the security baseline
      3. Understanding security operations
      4. Understanding the regulatory book of work
    5. Building your plan for the first 90 days
    6. Summary
  15. Part 3: Being the CIO or CISO
  16. Chapter 7: Moments of Truth (When You Accelerate Your Growth)
    1. Building a team
    2. Building a partnership to deliver
    3. Handling a critical hygiene issue
    4. Dealing with aftershocks
    5. Having a sense of duty as opposed to loyalty
    6. Dealing with your first cyber attack
    7. Building a risk culture
    8. Being totally honest
    9. Getting the CISO and CIO aligned
    10. Summary
  17. Chapter 8: Understanding the Pressures CIOs and CISOs Face
    1. The weight of being a leader
    2. Exploring a day in the life of a CIO
      1. A day in the life of a CIO
      2. The stress felt by different CIOs
    3. Exploring a day in the life of a CISO
      1. A day in the life of a CISO
      2. Stress felt by different CISOs
    4. How the CIO and CISO manage stress
    5. Summary
  18. Chapter 9: CIO and CISO Survival Skills
    1. Exploring Maslow’s theory in the context of CIOs and CISOs
    2. Building a strong foundation
      1. Making the right career choices for yourself
      2. Recalibrating your stakeholder analysis
    3. Cultivating skills to ensure longevity
      1. Building strategic alliances
      2. Finding a mentor
      3. Effectively managing political situations
      4. Maintaining continuous growth
    4. Summary
  19. Part 4: What’s Next in Your Career?
  20. Chapter 10: Looking for the Next Elevator
    1. Why look for the elevator?
    2. Choosing the next elevator
    3. The transit lounge
    4. Leveling up to build your career portfolio
    5. Holding the door open for your successor
    6. Summary
  21. Chapter 11: Risk Management as a Career Option
    1. Why Risk Management is a viable option
    2. Why might you want to cross over?
    3. Risk Management as coaching
    4. Finding your way to become a coach
    5. Summary
  22. Chapter 12: What CIOs and CISOs Do in Retirement
    1. Looking at retirement as a new beginning
    2. Figuring out how old you should be when you retire
    3. Looking at a few post-career moves for CIOs and CISOs
    4. Planning your transition to boards
    5. Planning a transition into board advisory
    6. Climbing a different mountain
    7. Summary
  23. Appendix: Index
    1. Why subscribe?
  24. Other Books You May Enjoy
    1. Packt is searching for authors like you
    2. Share Your Thoughts
    3. Download a free PDF copy of this book

Product information

  • Title: The Aspiring CIO and CISO
  • Author(s): David J. Gee
  • Release date: June 2024
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781835469194