RISK AND REALITY: Information Warfare Risk Management

Risk and Reality
with Dr. Franco Oboni

International Risk Assessment & Mitigation Strategies Consultant
foboni@riskope.com
www.riskope.com
Riskope Risk and Crisis Management Blog: http://foboni.wordpress.com/
www.slideshares.net/foboni
www.youtube.com/foboni

Note: We at TNNW are delighted to welcome Dr. Franco Oboni, a highly-regarded international risk assessment and management consultant, as our newest Featured Columnist. Dr. Oboni's Featured Column is titled RISK AND REALITY. We urge you to read Dr. Oboni every month.
___________________________________________
INFORMATION WARFARE (IW) RISK MANAGEMENT


There are two ways to look at Information Warfare (IW) Risk Management: the good one and the bad one (too see definitions of Risk Management and other risk/hazard/crisis technical glossary refer to Riskope web site)



The good one encompasses good thinking and planning, i.e. proper management of the informational risks, the bad one goes into premature acquisition of technical solutions, hardware and “magic gear”.


First of all let’s look at the reality of things: does IW exist? Could an Information Warfare attack hit you as an individual, or your company? Sure it does and it could hit regardless of the size of your organization: there are even schools that teach it, addressing corporate needs; and it has been abundantly used in recent armed conflicts. Examples exist of law firms that have been attacked to discredit them and the rest is easy to imagine in these days of Facebook and Twitter attacks, global networking.


Remember, though, IW encompasses all sorts of strategies and tactics, including good old propaganda, image attacks, brain washing etc.


Thus the reply to the simple question: is IW at the exclusive reach of highly skilled programmers and hackers? Is as easy and clear: with minimal study and efforts anyone can implement an IW offensive and start a campaign against a corporation or an individual on a private of professional basis, on a network of friends etc.


Riskope International was asked by a European army to perform an IW risk assessment as a first step to the implementation of a national IW Risk Management approach. More specifically we were asked how much should be invested by an hostile party to obtain with a certain likelihood a certain damage level to a country (i.e. exactly to think as the bad guys and define the best options to obtain maximum damage with the least effort). We were asked to stay away from hacking or technical procedures, as the military are well equipped in those areas, but rather to examine other ways to inflict damage from an information risk point of view. Obviously, we found out there is a very fine line between IW and good old propaganda, as defined from WW-I on to nowadays, but as information vectors have evolved, deployment tactics should change, and indeed have changed.

But more importantly our study changed the view on:

1. what objectives can be achieved,


2. what damage can be brought to an organization, and


3. what it takes to get there.


Amazingly, during the study, an attack on Italian Civil Protection, perpetrated by a unidentified group, showed that our conclusions closely matched reality.


Finally, looking at what kind of Risk Management action you can implement, it becomes apparent that filtering and properly fusing information in order to trigger timely (immediate) and pertinent response seems to be the way. Recent documented examples in industry have shown how true this statement is.


IW missions for corporate/private clients should be geared towards helping clients to detect informational vulnerabilities, finding how easy it is to “fake” or distort information, how “colorful and vivid” the distorted information would be…and finally how that information can be brought to self-amplify and infect the informational environment of the corporation/private.


Once clear filtering and fusing criteria have been selected, time comes to start thinking about gearing up…not before that, the penalty being a significant waste of mitigative investments and most likely no protection at all.

####
Labels and Key Terms: : blogs and credibility, crisis, decisionmaking, Dr. Franco Oboni, enterprises, facebook, Franco Oboni, identity theft, information, making hard choices, marketing, risk, twitter, warfare, world affairs, media, communications, risk identification, risk assessment, Riskope, The National Networker, risk mitigation, RISK AND REALITY,


Please click here for more information on Franco.

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

RISK AND REALITY: Information Warfare Risk Management

DEALING WITH GIANTS: Selling to the BIG BOYS - Doing the Job, Managing your Reputation, and GETTING PAID

Dealing With Giants
with Claudine Halpern

WOW, you’re business has it’s biggest customer ever, whether your business is a service or product business, there are some really important things to address now.

If you have a product business, you are probably finding yourself in the unenviable position of needing stock that you don’t have. You either need to purchase the stock or manufacture it. If you are well financed then it’s no problem, you go and buy it or make it.

WAIT, how did you set up your contract with your big customer? Let’s talk about some ways to make sure that you can keep your head above water while you’re getting the goods together.

• I very often suggest that a customer give you a percentage of the money that’s owed on contract signing, usually half, that might not cover all you costs but it should get you along the way to fulfilling your deal.

• Or you can get half up front and deliver incrementally, so that you can satisfy your customer and keep your head above water.

I did logistics work for a publicly held major BIG BOY catalogue retailer, it was Mother’s Day and the BIG BOY ordered squeaky bears that were selling for $5 as a bonus with other purchases. In order to save money, the BIG BOY outsourced the bears to China in January, with every expectation that they would show up in plenty of time for Mother’s Day. Each bear cost $2.50, so the profit margin was there. The BIG BOY had orders for over 1 million bears. They were planning on starting sorting and delivery in late March.

A storm hit the South China Sea, and the ship, carrying the squeaky bears, was delayed by three months. Oooooops, 1 million customers were not going to be happy, and the BIG BOY needed to do something fast.

In March, the BIG BOY ordered 1 million squeaky bears, from a local manufacturer, for $5.00 each. So the bears cost $2.50 +$5.00 or $7.50 each, and sold for $5 each. That created a loss of $2.5 million for that quarter, not happy shareholders.

1million bears showed up in July, decorated for Mother’s Day. What to do with 1 million Mother’s Day bears in July? The BIG BOY hired a local firm to redecorate the bears for Thanksgiving at $3.50 each and sold them in the catalogue for, you got it, $5. Total Profit ZERO, Total Loss well you figure it out.

So if you are producing goods for one of the BIG BOYS, Be smart, be careful, price intelligently and have a contingency plan, to keep your reputation intact you need to deliver quality merchandise on time and in budget.

If you have a service business, you may have a little more flexibility in pricing. I always recommend incremental pricing based on milestones. What does that mean? That means that you get paid for getting to the milestone, not for finishing the job. Here’s how you create the incremental milestones plan:

· clearly establish and document the BIG BOYS goals

· break down the deliverable into obvious, smaller pieces

· clearly establish and document what tasks belong to you and what belong to the BIG BOY

· clearly establish and document what the BIG BOY must provide (information, support, office space, technology, coffee, raw materials etc,) and when

· clearly establish and document change control procedures, that means that there are no changes unless all agree and the scope and dates are renegotiated

· clearly establish what you will get paid when you hit each milestones

I had a small software client who got a multi million dollar contract with one of the BIG BOYS. We wrote the contract following the rules above. We always got paid on time, even though we did not always hit the milestones, we could always prove that we didn’t hit the milestone because of something the BIG BOY promised and didn’t deliver.

When working with the BIG BOYS, Be Smart, Be Effective, Be Thrifty, Have Contingency Plans, Be Realistic, Be True to Yourself and Your Company, good ideas for business and good ideas for life.

Next Time; Building on current BIG BOY business to get more BIG BOY business.

About Claudine Halpern

Claudine Halpern is a chameleon; she has worked in many different situations during her more than twenty-five years in business; as a management consultant, Claudine advised many of the major brokerage, insurance, and financial houses, completing more than fifteen major corporate initiatives during the past ten years. As a crisis manager for major corporations, Claudine successfully brought in projects and products that other firms would not touch. As a specialist in business and management consultancy, Claudine consults to emerging businesses across the spectrum.

EMAIL chalpern@theychgroup.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/claudinehalpern

For more information, please visit Claudine's TNNW Bio.

Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

DEALING WITH GIANTS: Selling to the BIG BOYS - Doing the Job, Managing your Reputation, and GETTING PAID

IT ALL STARTS WITH US! "The Silent Screams of Consultants"

It All Starts With Us! with John A. Lee

All of us are consultants in a sense. We offer and apply our expertise to others in hopes of making a connection and receiving some form of compensation. This is the fundamental principal of networking. We have something to sell that someone else needs. Whether we call ourselves consultants, independent contractors, suppliers, vendors, or partners, we contract our services to another entity as a “non-employee” expert.

This is an important distinction as it tangibly defines the working relationship. A consultant is not an employee of his client even though the work may be vital and approach full-time levels. An employee has certain structures and rights that a consultant does not – steady paycheck at regular intervals, access to an HR department (or due process), protective labor laws, work environment and tools, and a platform for regular and steady open dialogue with the employer.

Further, the IRS applies a test that measures three areas – behavioral control, financial control, and the relationships of the parties - to define a contractor from an employee to ensure the engagement is not an attempt of the client to avoid payroll taxes.One key IRS point focuses on how the contractor is supervised. In general, the client has limited say in how, when, and where the contractor delivers the service. This creates a greater formality and distance between consultant and client. The consultant is never quite a full member of the family.

Breaching the formality (to close the distance) is a line in the sand that most consultants do not cross. On our side of the line, we offer and promise, and, repeat the mantra “no problem,” as our client asks for more. Yet, we are afraid to speak up for ourselves, our needs and expectations. We fear we are totally at the whim of our client.

The frustration of not openly communicating can grow to an unbearable point, yet the consultant will remain silent, fearful of damaging the relationship if he speaks up.

Over the years, I have talked to and listened to the frustrations of hundreds of consultants in my network - consultants that work in many industries and deliver many different services to their customers. Keep in mind most contractors love their work. There are not really complaining. They understand much of drama goes with the territory.

Also, keep in mind that no client engages a consultant with the intent to abuse, confuse, and flummox. Clients, at worst, recognize their need for specialized help but don’t know how to skillfully engage and manage the resource.

Having spent many years as an executive who hired consultants, I can see how my behavior may have caused some frustration. I didn’t always look out for my contractors and their needs the way I should have. I'd stick the invoice in the A/P "pay in 30 days" basket without a thought as to urgency. But I've seen the light! Consultants are special. With a little more thought, I could have easily made their engagement less frantic.

So, pressure builds and consultants vent to themselves with imaginary dialogues with their clients. Ever wonder what consultants wish they could say to their clients but don’t? Here are a few silent screams:

• Measure my fee by the value I provide. Don’t tell me my rates are too high or you’d love to use me but you think I’m too expensive. I’m running a business and I have to manage it like you manage yours. I have overhead, rent, equipment to purchase and maintain, expenses like healthcare premiums, and self-employment taxes. Plus, I use my profit to live on.

• Please pay me at the times we agreed upon. When you pay late, it can cause personal problems for me. I really can't wait 30 days or more after a project concludes for my payment.

• You are an absolute priority for me but sometimes I cannot be available as I attempt to be all things, to all people, at all times. Remember this when I agree with a smile in my voice to schedule our weekly call on Sunday evenings at 10:00 pm after you’ve put your kids to bed.

• Let’s define the scope of work you want me to do. I understand the need to be flexible, agile, and roll with the punches, but a direct relationship exists among scope, time, and fees. When you add to my workload I have to invest more time. Understand, I do want all of your business that I can manage, but I may have to charge more if I take on additional work.

• Let’s agree what success looks like for me . . . and for you. If we agree to expectations and goals, I will have a clear target to exceed.

• Know how to use me before you hire me. Be available to me. We’re in this together. Don’t engage me and fade away leaving me to wonder if I’ve disappointed you.

• Don’t be offended if I put our agreement in writing. While I believe in the strength and the integrity of the handshake, as time goes by, the detail of what each of us agreed to may fade.

• You’re asking me to reduce my profit? When you read my proposal you asked for a reduction in price but weren’t willing to reduce the scope of the project. Same work for less money. The profit margin is what I use to make my house payments, buy groceries for my family, gasoline, clothing, and pay college tuition.

• I’m in the service business, but I’m not a servant. I am as expert in my fields as you are in yours. Engage me for my expertise because you are convinced I have something you need.

• Have the courage say “No.” When I’m pitching your business and I get “buy” signs, I will show my eagerness to get started. I’ll float new ideas to you. Generate work product to show value. When you suddenly stop answering the phone, I feel used.

• Let me do the work you hired me to do. Empower me with your team. Don’t put me in a position where I have to defend my services to your team and fight for implementation or to be heard.

• Don’t hire me for my expertise and tell me why everything I propose won’t work. You wanted “fresh eyes” and my advantage is I’m not bogged down in the weeds of inertia. I’m not politically paralyzed. I can see the forest and the trees! At the same time!

• Don’t withhold information from me during an RFP. I’m a newcomer to your business and to really develop a strong proposal that will benefit you, I need your help. Don’t get so hung up on supposed “fair bidding practices” that you forget we are all bidding for the chance to make your business better. I can’t offer you the full impact of my expertise without specific and complete information. Information makes me strong. You want me strong. This isn’t a game. RFPs should never be about “I want to see what you come with.” Two weeks after you award me your business and I’m into the project, I’ll be a lot smarter. You’ll see me work my magic and be glad you hired me. Until that point, bury me with information to make my proposal stronger.

• Give me a shot at something small but tangible to start a relationship. If you have an incumbent supplier you like – good for you and good for them! I fully understand you’ve invested intellectual capital in that relationship and are hesitant to start over. And they must be doing something right. But, someday, you’ll want a fresh approach or your supplier may not have capacity or availability for something you need done. Invest in me for tomorrow and I’ll be waiting in the wings without need of a ramp-up.

• Understand my value as well as my price. Someone who will always say they can do it cheaper. Look beyond price to my reputation, to my satisfied clients, to my position in the industry. Factor your risk. Cheap is cheaper but seldom better.

• I’m in this business because I want to be. I believe in you and your business or I wouldn’t be pitching you. I’m defined, in part, by the status of the clients I serve. I’m proud to be working with you. I genuinely feel I can make a difference in your business and I will do anything to become indispensable to you. So, run to me. Open up to me. Embarrass me with your praise when I astound you. Because, together we can do amazing things.

Great business is based on relationships characterized by moments of inspiration and moments of despair. Relationship implies a personal as well as professional connection, emphasis on connection. It is important for both Contractor and Client to hear what’s spoken as well as to sense what’s not being said.

To thrive in a business juncture, we must develop a connection of trust, openness, and respect, understanding that as humans we often don’t say what we feel. Yet, it is this trait of feeling that differentiates us and makes us vibrant in the business world.

Feeling makes us care. Caring makes us passionate. Harness that energy and you can accomplish anything. Think of the power we could generate if each of us was open and truthful to each other as we leveraged our combined passions, because, need I remind you . . . it all starts with us!

Continued success,

John A. Lee, MA MBA
Laguna Beach, California

For more information, please visit John's TNNW Bio.


Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

IT ALL STARTS WITH US! "The Silent Screams of Consultants"