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Compliance lessons from Kobe Bryant?

November 9, 2009 Natasha

MVP

Despite my disdain for Kobe Bryant (it has nothing to do with him and everything to do with his team; sorry I am not a Laker fan) I learned something about compliance from him this past week.  Kobe is a great basket ball player, an MVP with four championship rings, yet he is always looking to improve his game.  Instead of becoming complacent, with his rings and MVP title, this past summer he sought the help of another great, Hakeem Olajuwon, to help him with his game.   Wow, what passion, humility and drive.

I immediately thought of the stamp of approval we get from regulatory auditors. Compliant! That’s our MVP title – FFIEC compliant, PCI complaint, HIPAA Compliant.  Unfortunately as soon as the auditor leaves a new season starts and that title becomes obsolete.  As a result organizations must make security a priority and strive to be compliant not just during audit ‘season’, but EVERYDAY. There is always a new threat, a new virus and a new scam. Let’s take a page from Kobe’s book and approach our security initiatives with passion, drive and diligence. Let’s not get complacent with ‘titles’ and check marks but use them to challenge us to keep our customer data safe. Let’s make security and compliance continuous. 

Perhaps I don’t dislike Kobe as much after all….hmmm

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  • Heath
    I agree with Deni's assessment more than Kobe's work ethic. Kobe is more into 'continuous improvement', which is what we can all take a lesson from
  • My view is that Compliance does not have to take sweat and blood. The goal is to have Compliance be a seamless process in our normal business day. Some would say "that would be fine if I did not have to rely on everyone else to do their part.". The answer is a collaborative culture. The openness of collaboration being used to close security vulnerabilities is not a contradiction in terms. It is the answer, albeit less than obvious, on the surface.
  • Jack
    This is a testament to work ethics. When you settle for just good enough that's the result you get. However, when you want to excel as a company and ensure your shareholders, stakeholders and customers receive the best you take your security program up a notch as well. It's that trait that makes winners WINNERS. That desire to always be the best. Great lesson and one we can take beyond security compliance to our everyday life.
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