I spent twenty-some years selling security technologies and solutions to a wide range of buyers. Without a doubt, technically savvy buyers are the most difficult to close. They know what they want and they expect you to understand their problems. I endured numerous brutal grillings from these kinds of buyers…

Every December, the annual flood of cybersecurity predictions washes across social media. With each passing year these predictions remain wholly predictable. How many times have you heard some variation of: Attacks against ____ will increase _____ attacks will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated The rise of ____ will…

Years ago, a client called me in a panic. Their servers were hacked and spitting out spam. They had to take their production environment offline and the business was hurting. As a CEO with an appreciation for the costs of downtime, I recommended they forgo incident response. I suggested they…

“Fake it until you make it” is one of those phrases people throw around as if it was an immutable by-law of startups. A quick search of LinkedIn, Reddit, or the dumpster fire that is Twitter are awash in pontificators promoting “fake it until you make it” stories. …

“Our products sell themselves!” the Founder proudly proclaimed. His words hung in the air above us. We were enjoying lunch at a trendy Portland eatery. I nodded, smiled, and waited for the absurdity of his words to sink in. “Okay, tell me how I am wrong,” he said, after a…

There are thousands of distractions while running a startup or small business. While founders (like me) are fond of dishing out advice on how to woo investors, wow customers, and win talent, I am going to spotlight something mundane that is absolutely critical to your success: getting paid. If your…

Not in its current form and not if the Texas Attorney General gets his way Recently, I was on a panel discussion for the United Nation’s AI for Good program about the Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence. At the end of the discussion, the moderator asked an intriguing question: can the…

Dealerships are uploading the worst parts of car buying to the cloud For the past few months, I have been shopping for that icon of American industrial might, a new pickup truck. Specifically, a Ford F-150. The F-150 is the most popular pickup truck on the market. …

For twenty-some years, I did most of the sales engineering (SE) at my company. I loved SE work. I got to meet people, hear their problems, and help them. I sold complex security cybersecurity products and services. Most of the prospects I sold to were technically savvy. …