2021 Podcasts- Key Takeaways

Happy New Year! We want to mark the new year by sharing some favorite moments from our #SimplifyForSuccess podcast. We had 20 guests on the podcast in 2021 and wonderful conversations with each. We are thankful to all our guests for sharing powerful stories and great pieces of wisdom. Thank you!

Our guests included:

1. Dennis Kiker

2. Kevin Clark

3. Patrick Henz

4. Danny Thankachan

5. Howard Loos

6. Aaron Crews

7. James Sherer

8. Ilona Koti

9. Jessica Marlette

10. Debbie Reynolds

11. Anjana Susarla

12. Jeff Jockisch

13. Jake Frazier

14. Susan Lindberg

15. Dheeraj Thimmaiah

16. Odia Kagan

17. Katharina Koerner

18. Robert Smallwood

19. Dan Doggendorf

20. Lauren Kitces

Privacy professionals deal with complex problems in dynamic environments with rapidly evolving regulations. We have seen much discussion regarding the complex challenges with data and privacy. Likewise, there have been many discussions focusing on the regulatory changes and feedback from regulators. But there has not been much discussion of how Privacy programs can be operationalized in organizations. We started the Simplify for Success podcasts to share and learn from each other how we can simplify Privacy and have more successful implementations. Hopefully, you have enjoyed these conversations and have found them giving you new ideas on how you can improve privacy programs within your organizations.

Some key takeaways on what makes Privacy programs successful from the collective wisdom of these podcasts:

• The people aspect of the program is very important and needs focus.

• We often focus on people, process, and then on technology. It is important to consider all three in an interconnected manner. It is important to focus on the people and to build awareness, training, and change management into a program. But it is also equally important to consider technology to scale, streamline and sustain the program. A big reason for fatigue and failure is the lack of emphasis on scaling and streamlining of processes.

• Digital transformation is going to get amplified further, especially with the pandemic. Be prepared for change.

• Simplification should be a focus for privacy and security programs. It is important to look at how one can simplify processes. CISOs need to have simplification as one of their top priorities. There is often unnecessary complexity within environments. This might even be by design based on a “more complex the environment, the more secure it is” approach. Unfortunately, the more complex the environment, the more holes that get created, and often, one is not even aware of the holes that have been created.

• Take a step back and pause for a moment before launching headlong into a Privacy program, or even if your program is already underway. With this deliberate pause, step back from the immediate tasks to refocus on the big picture and understand the purpose and goals behind the project. Ensure alignment between teams and to recognize the interconnectivity. Calibrate your approach to ensure it is organized and constructive. This moment of pause can enable you to get the best outcomes for all the great efforts going into your programs.

• Successful privacy programs do not happen overnight. Focus on how you use data to drive process improvements. Use data, build analytics and obtain insights from the data. This will be the best information that people can leverage and rely on.

Thanks to our guests and to all the listeners for making this a success. The podcast is also now available across platforms, including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Buzzsprout, and Apple Podcasts. Please continue to join us for more episodes and great conversations.