July 9, 2013.
My last day with a company I had devoted my time and energy for a decade. What was the payoff? A layoff. The shiny new CEO with an old school resume’ had made the call that 1700 of us were not part of the future. I was told I could try to find a gig within the company, but everyone I spoke to was also asking around. There was simply not enough room at the inn (or enough deck space left on the Titanic, depending on who you ask.)
I turned in my corporate owned laptop and went, as scheduled, on our annual family vacation to Virginia Beach. I had ten years in sales on my resume’ and 14 years in infosec. I was confident that I would find a new gig…on the outside. The swagger I had built from over 20 years of stage time fully on display. Inside, I had that nagging voice of fear. My corporate gig was our primary income, our source of benefits, and most of our lifestyle. Stacia was building her practice, and our health and wellness business, but my employment was still a huge part of what we relied on.
The nagging voice continued after phone interviews with a few vendors turned into nothing. An in-person interview turned out to be nothing more than data mining by the supposed employer; picking my brain to see what they could learn about a product I used to sell. One opportunity was beginning to take shape, however, and something about it felt very positive. A recruiter named John had called me and told me to stop answering other calls. He felt I was the guy they wanted, and after speaking with him and a few others, I started feeling the feel of harmony there, too.
I was on vacation with the family on a rainy Wednesday morning when the head of systems engineers from the company called me, interested in having a conversation. The rain had driven the kids inside, and the video games they were playing were making quite the racket. I apologized and stepped outside, nervously pacing as I answered questions and offered my opinion on technology solutions and the business outcomes that came from it. I wanted this gig. That harmony was a dull buzz in my head as I began speaking with more confidence. Half an hour in, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The kids were still in, so I just kept up the conversation, pacing the long wooden path from the beach house to the dune and back.
Eli and I talked for another hour. I wound up with sunburnt shoulders. The back of my neck was red. By the time he and I agreed on the vision that value was the key differentiator to any solution, the harmony was pounding in my head. It was a symphony. It was red lining on two wheels. I could have struggled to quit smiling, but I didn’t.
We agreed that I had a few more people to talk with, but I believe it was that conversation, on that path, that shaped where I would go with my career, and the last two years have proven my prognosis accurate. Two years ago, I joined a tiny security company that was very quickly swallowed up by an industry giant. The past 24 months have been filled with highs and lows, education and success, a lot of good times, and the building of some relationships I will simply consider the best of my life.
I got to return to my roots. I love infosec. I love the philosophy of criminology and cybercrime. My degree is in criminal justice, not computer science. As I said in my interview, if you let me keep kids safe online and catch bad guys, I will scrub toilets, park cars, and do whatever the hell else you want me to do. I got to attend Derbycon. I joined the tech committee for the first B-Sides Charm security conference in Baltimore. Hell, as I write this, I’m listening to Circuit Static, who I met through that event.
Swami, Neal, Fish, Javed, Batman, Male Man, Ricky B, Chuck Norris, Agent Gibbs (who fixed my golf swing), Lo Simpki (it’s your birthday!), Buffum, Wason, Cairns, thesecurityblogger.com, Pronto, Mz. Bat, Forgotten, Scott, Coop, Rae, Marsall, Joel, Patrick, Coulter (“Officer on Deck”), Luis (we will write that book!), so many folks.
I am beyond grateful that my path, that long wooden path from the beach house to the dune and back, let me to all of you. I look forward to where it leads from here.
One Love,
nK
