”Ugly Exits” w/ Naomi Buckwalter

On today’s episode with Allan, we talk “Ugly Exits” with Naomi Buckwalter, Director of Information Security. Of course, to start the episode, Naomi answers Allan’s question of how she got started in cyber. They circle back to the topic at hand, “Ugly Exits”. Under this umbrella are: being fired, laid off, "burning bridges", or being encouraged to leave in a "voluntary" manner. Allan shares statistics for some of these categories, including a substantial statistic on those who have been outright fired. When it comes to burning bridges, so many people walk away from a company that is behaving in an unethical manner and putting their employees in unethical situations. To Naomi, this is a frightening common thread. It’s scary how many unethical employers are out there. Naomi shared a personal story of her ugly exit, and the fact that it was deserved to some extent. She has owned that experience, has learned from it, and has grown as a result. Allan shares his personal “burned bridge” story which continues to follow him through the industry here and there. He feels his reputation is sullied with a certain small segment of the industry, and that it most likely won’t ever change. But he also takes ownership for how he mishandled the situation. Rounding out the show, Naomi and Allan talk about earning their stripes and realizing it is all about growth, resiliency and grit. In fact, as humans, they feel sometimes we don’t appreciate the bad things that happen to us, so we can appreciate the grown and the improvements we have made throughout our lives. Reflect back and think about all that you have survived in your past. Out that self-awareness comes the opportunity to improve. A large portion of growth, whether personal or work, comes from self-reflection. One can learn from it, grow from it and figure out how to navigate the situation should it arise again. Could it be that thinking we are the hero of our own stories is hurting us? Key Takeaways 1:25 Getting into Cyber 3:22 Burning Bridges 8:56 Mismatches 14:18 Reflecting 19:43 Humanity 23:28 The Firing and One’s Value 28:45 What Keeps You Going Links: Learn more about Naomi on LinkedIn and on Twitter Follow Allan Alford on LinkedIn and Twitter Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio and The Cyber Ranch Podcast Sponsored by our good friends at Uptycs