S24 Ep2: Beau Lotto - Thriving in Uncertainty

At the 2023 ISF Congress in Rotterdam, Steve sits down with keynote speaker Beau Lotto. Beau holds his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Developmental Neuroscience, and he teaches organizations how to apply scientific truths about perception to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world. He has helped brands like Cirque du Soleil, Microsoft and L’oreal gain valuable, science-backed insights into their businesses and customers. Beau talks to Steve about how security leaders can change their way of being to effect change at their organisations, and he offers practical ways of incorporating play and diversity to improve team outcomes. Key Takeaways: 1. Business leaders have a unique role when it comes to establishing business culture. 2. What you do is your function; what you are about is your business. 3. Authenticity is critical for buy in, and buy in is critical for success. 4. Seemingly small changes in initial conditions are powerful and can yield massive results. 5. Embracing uncertainty is a winning strategy, and it can be fun. Tune in to hear more about: 1. The Host Effect (1:40) 2. Measuring Relevance (3:15) 3. Leading with Authenticity (8:55) 4. Transforming Initial Conditions (12:00) 5. Play as a Mindset (14:30) Standout Quotes: 1. “... have you noticed that the personality of the party is very much the personality of the host? … it's because the brain infects and is infected by other people.”  2. “Your business is how and why are you relevant … what we do with my Lab of Misfits is we then measure their actual relevance on the audience. So we, in that case, we would measure the brain activity of the people during the performance, what happened to people before and after. So now what they can do is take ownership of what we call the human truth of value that they're actually in the business of.” 3. “You can be authentic in any situation … You don't need others to shape that for you; that's intrinsic within you. And that gives you that sense of being proactive, which is essential in times of uncertainty, which is what we're facing all the time.” 4. “...if you look at, say, the initial conditions of the solar system, you have Mars, let’s take Mars. If you were to alter its proximity to the Sun by one millimeter, make it a little one millimeter closer, in 10% of models the whole solar system collapses. If you take Mars and put it one millimeter further away, in 10% of the models the whole cell system explodes and goes off into space … so small change in the initial conditions can have massive transformative effects.” 5. “... play is actually an evolved brain state where we actually choose uncertainty. We don't avoid it. We actually want it. It's not that we hate it, but we're going to turn down our loathing of it. We actually seek it out. Right? And you know, not knowing who's going to win the Rugby World Cup is why it's fun to watch.” Mentioned in this episode: Leadership Insights: Unlocking the business value of security ISF Analyst Insight Podcast Read the transcript of this episode Subscribe to the ISF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter From the Information Security Forum, the leading authority on cyber, information security, and risk management.