On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee sits down with Mita Mallick, Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta and also the author of "Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace." Also joining Lisa is Melanie Roberson, Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Launch Consulting. The trio discusses how inclusivity issues can impact employee engagement and performance — and how the solution really starts at the kitchen table, not the conference room table. Along the way, Mita shares the 13 myths that she covers in her book, including which one seems to be sparking the most conversation. Complete with personal stories and reflections, it's an enlightening conversation that's sure to make you stop and think about your own workplace, leaders, and coworkers. Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/Find Mita at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mita-mallick-2b165822/Find Melanie at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-roberson-55a0a23/Learn more about Launch Consulting at https://www.launchconsulting.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee from Launch Consulting chats with author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Aaron Hurst. In a wide-ranging conversation, they touch on topics from scaling innovation in the nonprofit sector, to the differences in how AI is perceived globally, and to the importance of lifelong learning for both today's leaders and the next generation of leaders.They also delve into the concept of the purpose mindset (including how it differs from "finding your purpose") and how it can help you create meaning on a daily basis. Plus, Aaron explains why work is changing from being like a high school band to being more like a jazz ensemble — and how that's related to the rise of AI in the workplace. Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/Find Aaron at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronhurst/ and https://purposeeconomy.com/Learn more about Launch Consulting at https://www.launchconsulting.com/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee, Managing Director of Data & AI at Launch Consulting, sits down with Russ Whitman, Chief Strategy Officer for The Planet Group to discuss the AI imperative. They discuss  what makes this AI moment different from other technological advancements that have come before and why it just might be the largest change management challenge in our lifetimes. The pair cover some key topics and trends that executives and leaders should consider as they think about their strategies for 2024 and beyond. Listen in for Russ's three main takeaways, including why he thinks NOW is the time to be bold and what could happen if you're not.Find Lisa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/Find Russ at https://www.linkedin.com/in/russwhitman/Take the Launch Consulting AI Readiness self-assessment at https://www.launchconsulting.com/aiready

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Mike Halstead and Creighton Adams from Launch Consulting share highlights from the special Cybersecurity series. From trends and predictions to the benefits and potential challenges of AI and machine learning, and from best practices to getting the basics nailed down, listen in for tidbits from the season. Then be sure to check out the full episodes with Matthew Rosenquist, Rami Zreikat and Trinh Ngo, Mike Bochniarz, Jiong Liu, Clement King, and Bruce Hembree — along with a crew of internal Launch experts. To learn more about how to develop your organization's Future State of Cybersecurity, go to launchconsulting.com/cyber.Follow Mike Halstead at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-halstead-77bb6018/Follow Creighton Adams at https://www.linkedin.com/in/creighton-adams/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Mike Halstead and Creighton Adams from Launch Consulting host Bruce Hembree, Field CTO for the Cortex division of Palo Alto Networks, in a wide-ranging discussion about cyber hygiene. They highlight how thoughtful automation and quality machine learning can enhance scalability of security efforts and allow engineers to spend time on creative pursuits that can ultimately increase the maturity level of the organization. They also touch on how AI will change the development and testing of products — and how humans will still be absolutely necessary for those tasks. Finally, they reflect on whether or not anything has changed since the SolarWinds attack and if it shifted the perceptions of cybersecurity teams.To learn more about how to develop your organization's Future State of Cybersecurity, go to launchconsulting.com/cyber.To download the Unit 42 report referenced in the podcast, go to https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/resources/research/2023-unit42-ransomware-extortion-reportFollow Bruce Hembree at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-hembree-4679a6a5/Follow Mike Halstead at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-halstead-77bb6018/Follow Creighton Adams at https://www.linkedin.com/in/creighton-adams/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Mike Halstead and Morganna Hodge from Launch Consulting are joined by Clement King, a risk management and compliance executive with extensive experience in the financial services industry, to discuss the compliance and regulatory aspects of cybersecurity. The trio chat about best practices, how they keep up with changes in the global regulatory environment, the importance of educating executives and the board about cyber risk, and how strong risk management practices can create a better customer experience and help an organization achieve its business objectives. To learn more about how to develop your organization's Future State of Cybersecurity, go to launchconsulting.com/cyber.Follow Clement King at https://www.linkedin.com/in/clement-king-iii/ Follow Mike Halstead at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-halstead-77bb6018/Follow Morganna Hodge at https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganna-hodge-056b4b13b/

In this episode of Navigating Forward, Mike Halstead and Roshan Soni from Launch Consulting speak with Jiong Liu, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Wiz, about cloud security. They cover recent trends in cloud threats and attack patterns, along with the increasingly complex nature of the attacks and the challenges of just keeping up with all of the data, tools, and environments that exist within an organization. They also touch on how this increases the complexity of a security team's work — and how it necessitates a mindset that security is a team sport that must include dev and DevOps teams, plus security champions across the organization.  To learn more about how to develop your organization's Future State of Cybersecurity, go to launchconsulting.com/cyber.Follow Jiong Liu at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiong-liu/Follow Mike Halstead at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-halstead-77bb6018/Follow Roshan Soni at https://www.linkedin.com/in/roshan-soni/

On this episode of Navigating Forward, Lisa Thee, Managing Director of Data & AI at Launch Consulting, welcomes Rupal Hollenbeck, President of Check Point Software for a discussion about AI and cybersecurity. They delve into both the challenges and opportunities that generative AI brings to cybersecurity, including that bad actors can now use tools like ChatGPT to compose more convincing phishing emails and even to create malware. On the flip side, they also talk about how AI can also help companies supercharge their own cybersecurity efforts. They also touch on how important it is to make sure that employees are learning about generative AI both now and on an ongoing basis as technologies evolve. Additionally, they discuss how organizations need to communicate about the security and privacy implications of generative AI use so that well-intentioned employees aren't accidentally sharing sensitive data. Find Rupal and Check Point Software at:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupal-hollenbeck/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologieshttps://twitter.com/checkpointswhttps://twitter.com/rupalshah1011 Find Lisa and Launch Consulting at:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisathee/https://www.linkedin.com/company/launch-consulting-group/https://www.launchconsulting.com/studios/data-ai

In this episode of Navigating Forward, Mike Halstead and J.R. Reed from Launch Consulting sit down with Mike Bochniarz, head of Third Party Risk Assessment at Cross River Bank, to talk about third-party and supply chain risk. Topics include the necessity of carefully identifying risks upfront, as well as ongoing lifecycle monitoring — and how tools and automation may help some organizations with these crucial tasks. They also touch on the impacts and learnings from major events like COVID and the SolarWinds intrusion, plus the additional thought that must be given to fourth-party (and beyond) risk. To learn more about how to develop your organization's Future State of Cybersecurity, go to launchconsulting.com/cyber.Follow Mike Bochniarz at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bochniarz-esq-a1a92542/Follow Mike Halstead at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-halstead-77bb6018/Follow J.R. Reed at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrreed/

In this episode of Navigating Forward, Creighton Adams, Kurt Alaybeyoglu, and Liz Gerson from Launch Consulting get together to discuss bridging the gap between business stakeholders and engineers. As Director of Cybersecurity, Director of Compliance, and Account Executive, they each bring a unique perspective to the challenges of a cybersecurity project — and where they all agree is that desirable solutions can't be built without trust, feedback, and communications. With real-world examples from collaborations with energy utilities, they delve into the challenges that teams can face on cybersecurity projects. They cover the bases from digging in to understand the real problems to gap analysis and risk assessments amidst technological debt — and how building trust between participants is the key to both a strong partnership and a successful outcome.To learn more about how to develop your organization's Future State of Cybersecurity, go to launchconsulting.com/cyber.Follow Creighton at https://www.linkedin.com/in/creighton-adams/Follow Kurt at https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-kurt-alaybeyoglu-b1a52395/Follow Liz at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgerson/