Creator of the Zero Trust model of cybersecurity, John Kindervag serves as Chief Evangelist at Illumio. He joins host Ethan Beute to share insights from his journey turning a new idea into a global movement.
More than a dozen years ago as a Forrester analyst, he turned primary research into a new model of information security. Rather than a perimeter-based approach, a segmented approach that assumes zero trust is more effective. An affront to the status quo at the time, Zero Trust is now a global movement that’s reached every continent and resulted in an Executive Order by President Biden. Behind it all is passion, persistence, and evangelism.
Takeaways:
- The most important role of a Chief Evangelist is to create and communicate a compelling narrative and story that they genuinely believe in. Go beyond technical details to business strategy - and do it with expertise, enthusiasm, and human centricity.
- Put the problem and opportunity ahead of the product. Zero Trust is a strategy that’s product, technology, and vendor neutral. Evangelize the problem, not the product.
- Embrace both external and internal evangelism. Engage with customers and prospects while also fostering understanding and buy-in among teammates. And align with the CMO for maximum impact.
- No matter your problem, solution, or market, evangelism should be based on a deep and sincere desire to make people’s lives better.
Quote of the Show:
- “The only purpose for doing all this is to make people’s lives better. That’s the reason for technology. If you’re just into it for the technology, but not the human aspects of it, it’s not a good fit for you.” - John Kindervag
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