Official Review
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1. What do you do when you aren't writing?
I’m an entrepreneur, real estate investor, speaker, and endurance athlete. When I’m not writing, I’m working on one of my companies, primarily my new cybersecurity company or my property management company. I also give a lot of keynote talks related to my book, The Smartest Person in the Room and cybersecurity seminars. I’m also always on the lookout for new real estate opportunities. For fun, I do Ironman triathlons, hike, and enjoy time in nature.
2. Why did you decide to write a book?
I wrote The Smartest Person in the Room because I feel emotional intelligence, people skills, and leadership skills are much needed in high-tech industries. The impetus to write the book was my journey with the cybersecurity company I built and sold, Alpine Security. Almost all the problems I had within my company were the result of a lack of people skills, not a lack of technical skills. I decided to fix this challenge in my company. The things that worked, I distilled into seven steps I call the Secure Methodology. I want to help remove the glass ceiling from highly technical, high-IQ people, by showing them a way to develop EQ skills to complement their already high IQ. I write about this in my book.
3. Let's move on to your book The Smartest Person in the Room. Where did the title come from?
The title came from people who desire significance from being smarter than others – from being the smartest person in the room. We all want to be significant, and in my industry and many others, people often get their significance from being “smarter” than others. Communication, collaboration, relationships, and effectiveness are diminished when you are always looking to prove how smart you are.
4. Who would you consider your target audience?
My target audience can be broken down into four groups – 1) leaders of technical staff, 2) high IQ people that wonder why they are being held back in life, 3) people interested in finding out why we are losing the cyberwar, 4) anyone interested in developing better people and life skills.
5. Though the book is targeted to those in the cyber industry, can the Secure Methodology help others? Victims of online scams or even cyberbullying, perhaps? How?
The book can help everyone – it is really a self-help, personal development book wrapped around my entrepreneurial journey in the cybersecurity industry. The Secure Methodology is designed to change how you think, feel, and act. The Secure Methodology is focused on people and life skills, using real-world examples from my experience. I do not offer technical cybersecurity advice – there are already plenty of great books out there that do that. I aimed to provide a life skills book with an infinite shelf life instead of a technical book with a finite one.
6. How much and what kind of research did you do for this book?
Most of the book is based on my journey. The “research” was all hands-on and tangible. I wrote about the things that worked in my company. I paid a lot of dumb tax and aim to help others avoid it. I read a lot and am very curious about human behavior – this comes through in my book, as I make many references to sources that helped me. I’m also very into personal growth and have taken many courses, so many topics, such as high-performance coaching, neurolinguistic programming, effective communication, etc., are incorporated into the book.
7. What did you learn while writing the book?
I think any great book should be transformative not just to those who read it, but also to the author. This book has transformed me and forced me to look deep within myself. To analyze why I do things the way I do, what’s holding me back, where my emotions come from, and if I’m being congruent with my message. This is my first book, so it has also been a very challenging experience. I was nervous about exposing my perspective to the world, including many personal stories and childhood incidents. The desire to help others outweighed my nervousness, though. So far, based on much feedback, I think the book has made a positive impact on many people’s lives.
8. What's next for you?
I’m working on my next book The In-Between: Life Happens in the Micro. This book is more of a memoir about where I feel I’ve got the small things right and where I’ve got them wrong. It’s about shifting with aligned intentionality to influence the small moments along the way to the macro, large moment. I often found myself in a “zombie state”, traveling from one goal (macro moment) to the next while ignoring or finding irritation with everything in between.
I like to end with fun questions.
9. Do you enjoy getting feedback from your readers? What's the best thing you've heard? Anything you've just had to shake your head at?
Yes, I enjoy feedback – all feedback – positive and constructive. I take it all in. The best thing I’ve heard is how my book has changed someone’s life for the better. It’s super interesting to see the contrast in reviews. For instance, on audible.com, I had someone say “I highly enjoyed the sheer density of actionable information.” In the next review, someone said “the author gives useless fluff, over and over”. I realize I can’t please everyone and that some people are not my target audience. The literal 180 degrees of different perspectives I see on some reviews is quite perplexing.
10. What books do you enjoy reading?
I spend most of my time listening to books instead of reading books. I’m currently listening to The Power of One More by Ed Mylett.
11. What animal would you most want to be and why?
A condor. I write about “condor vision” in my book – the ability to look at your life zoomed out – from the perspective of a condor. I think it’s essential to zoom out of the moment periodically and assess where you are in the forest of life. Are you headed in the right direction, surrounded by the right people to enjoy the journey with, or headed for a cliff?
12. What do you listen to in the car? Radio, audiobook, podcast, CD?
I drive in silence 90% of the time. I enjoy the quiet and just hearing the sounds of the wind and tires on the road. This is a time I use to reflect, think, etc. I occasionally listen to audiobooks while driving or heavy metal music.
