Jean Kang

✨ PM Career Coach, x7 pivoter, helping other pivoters land amazing Program Manager roles and 🔥 thrive on the job | Founder of 🚀 Path to PM | Senior Program Manager @ Figma • Ex-Linkedin, Meta, Pinterest, Intuit

Over the last decade, I led impactful programs at companies like LinkedIn, Pinterest, & Figma.

But here’s the part that surprises people:

- I didn’t have a PMP certification.
- I’m a proud career pivoter. 
- I didn’t check every box.

What I did have was strategy, storytelling, and a clear sense of how to articulate my value.

That’s how I landed multiple 6-figure Program Manager roles at top tech companies not by following the “traditional” path, but by leaning into my superpowers. 

Eventually, I had a spark to do something different..

What if I used the same skills that helped me thrive in Big Tech… to build something of my own?

So I left to bet on myself (again). 

And what served me well in my career also helped me as a solopreneur.

I owned my story, built with intention and shared learnings in public.

I started creating content in 2023 and in 2 years, built a community of 350K+ across LinkedIn, Instagram, and my newsletter.

Today, I’m the founder of the PM Accelerator, a career transformation program where I help senior professionals land high-paying PM roles without another certification or starting over. 

My mission is to democratize access to tech careers + empower folks to design a career, business & life they love especially in this era of AI.

The Results:

→ Partnered with Google, Hubspot, NVIDIA, Adobe, Kajabi, Notion, & more
→ LinkedIn Learning Instructor with 200K+ learners
→ 100M+ impressions over the last year
→ 230K+ follow my journey on LinkedIn
→ Built a $200K+ business in 1 year 
→ 32K+ read my newsletter 
→ (soon TEDx speaker 😱)

If you want to learn the exact framework I used to land dream PM roles + help others do the same… 

📌 APPLY TO THE PM ACCELERATOR (link in bio)

In this 5-week career acceleration program, I teach you how to get interviews, land dream offers and literally thrive on the job.  

I helped 100+ students land PM roles at Microsoft, SoFi, Scale.AI, Adidas, Workday and more (many in under 4–7 weeks)

→ GO HERE: pm-accelerator.com 

📧 jean@jean-kang.com for partnerships, collaborations, and speaking opportunities

📌 Media kit: jean-kang.com

Founder & CEO

"Jean isn’t a program manager coach solely because she’s done the role. She’s a coach because she’s done both the role AND gone the extra mile to document what she’s researched and learned masterfully. 

“Jean’s the real deal, and I couldn’t recommend her more to someone questioning how to take the next step in their career."

Leadership isn’t a title.

It’s how you make people feel.

💸 Get promo ready here: https://lnkd.in/gvq4UBgW

My assistant said this to me the other day 💙

“When I talk to managers, I get the feeling they're important. 
When I talk to leaders, I get the feeling I'm important.”

And said this is how I make her feel 🥹 (best compliment ever)

Here’s what I’ve learned about leading with kindness

(and why it’s often your secret weapon for getting ahead especially if you’re eyeing a promotion)

☝🏼 Create psychological safety

↳ People can only thrive when they feel safe to speak up, ask questions, and be themselves without fear of judgment.
↳ Avoid interrupting or dismissing ideas, even if they aren’t fully formed yet
↳ Ask for feedback, “How can I support you better?” or “Do you need more clarification?”

✌🏼 Turn mistakes into learning moments

↳ Focus on “What can we learn?” instead of “Who’s at fault?”
↳ Provide specific guidance on how to avoid the same mistake (ex. “Here’s what to do next time when X happens. What do you think?”

🤟🏼 Give meaningful appreciation & recognition

↳ Get to know how each individual WANTS to be recognized (via DMs, team meeting, more flexibility etc)
↳ Create rituals, like “Win of the Week,” to make appreciation part of the culture

🖖🏼 Care deeply for their well-being

↳ Check in with team members beyond work - ask, “How are you really doing?”
↳ Normalize taking breaks by doing it yourself and encouraging others to do the same (”I don’t expect you to work after hours or on weekends”)
↳ Reinforce that they should focus on their well being > work. Say, “Hey, I know you’re sick. Cancel your meetings and transfer any open work. I’ll handle it.”

Leadership isn’t about power. It’s about people.

If you want to truly thrive in your career, and land the promotion you deserve

👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Here’s a wildly valuable and completely free Promotion Readiness Calculator built by the brilliant Shivani Berry that gives you a custom report in < 2 minutes.

Here’s what it does

☝🏼 Identifies the exact lever blocking your promotion

✌🏼 Gives you detailed, actionable next steps to remove the block and bag your dream promo

💸 Get promo ready here: https://lnkd.in/gvq4UBgW

♻️ Repost if you agree & follow Jean Kang for more.

Tech Creator (400k+) & Founder | Ex-LinkedIn, Meta, Figma | Solopreneur, TEDx Speaker & LinkedIn Learning Instructor helping you thrive at work using AI

KPI = 
Key Performance Indicators

The New Leadership
KPI
Keep people interested
Keep people informed
Keep people involved
Keep people inspired

Be the person people want to work with.

How you collaborate will define your career more than anything else.

Because let’s be real. 

No one wants to work with the person who’s genius but impossible to deal with.

Here are 6 traits that make you an invaluable teammate:

__

1. Be dependable ☝🏼

↳ Follow through on what you say you'll do.
↳ Show up on time. Physically and mentally.
↳ Be the person others know they can count on.

2. Communicate like a boss ✌🏼

↳ Get to the point (lead with a headline).
↳ Keep people updated before they have to ask.
↳ Listen with the intent to understand, not just to reply.

3. Make other people’s jobs easier 🤟🏼

↳ Offer solutions vs problems.
↳ Offer help before you're asked.
↳ Share resources, knowledge, and wins.

4. Take ownership of everything (Good or bad) 🖖🏼

↳ Give credit where it’s due.
↳ Don't wait for someone else to step up. Be that person.
↳ Say this: “I dropped the ball. Here’s what happened and what I’ll do next time …”

5. Show appreciation 🖐🏼

↳ Say *thank you.* A lot.
↳ Celebrate small wins. Not just big results.
↳ Recognize someone’s effort, not just the outcomes.

People remember how you made them feel. Make them feel valued.

At the end of the day, the best career move isn’t just getting better at your job.

It’s getting better at working with people.

What’s one trait that makes someone amazing to work with? Drop it below 👇

Tech Creator (400k+) & Founder | Ex-LinkedIn, Meta, Figma | Solopreneur, TEDx Speaker & LinkedIn Learning Instructor helping you build AI literacy ✨

be the person that everyone wants to work with

I quit my job after 14 days.

The culture reflected in the interview was NOT the reality of working there.

The interview process was amazing.

I was so excited to join a great company culture.

Unfortunately, I noticed 🚩red flags in my first week.

My boss started to micromanage, degrade, and control me.

The reality was that what I was told in the interview was a lie.

So many people told me that I should never leave a job under 1 year.

They said being a ‘job hopper’ would ruin my career, but I decided to own my story.

I chose to leave my job under 1 month to preserve my mental health.

In doing so, I landed better roles, greater salaries, a kind manager, and a healthy culture conducive to my growth.

Don’t let anyone shame you for leaving a job because it looks 'bad.'

Staying at a toxic job long-term destroys your mental health.

It’s okay to leave and put yourself first.
__

5 questions to ask if you're in the right place 👇🏼

1/ Am I challenged?

2/ Am I learning & growing?

3/ Do I feel like I can make an impact?

4/ Do I align with the values of the company?

5/ Am I being valued & recognized for my work?

If the answers are NO, it’s time to start looking.

Because person or job is worth your mental health 💙

Repost if you believe mental health matters 🙏🏼

Image credit: Thinking Minds IG

knowing when to leave is so important. the party. the job. the relationship.

📣 Employees who feel appreciated will always do more than expected.

Spoiler alert: 

If they’re not growing, they’re GOING ✌🏼

I’ve left jobs where I felt undervalued, underutilized, & unsupported.

And by choosing to leave, I found myself in healthier workplaces where I was:

✅ Supported by my manager

✅ Recognized for my contributions

✅ Treated with respect and kindness

✅ Encouraged to take time off without the guilt

5 simple things to show your people you actually care:
__

☝🏼1. Be personally helpful

↳ Forward a helpful article, intro them to someone who can help, or share a tool that made your life easier.

Example: “Hey, this podcast made me think of you. It has great advice for client conversations!”

✌🏼2. Connect with, not above, your people

↳ Open up about your own challenges. Ask for feedback you’ll actually use.

Example: “I’ve been feeling stretched lately too. Curious what's one thing I could do better to support you this week?”

🤟🏼3. Get curious about their life outside of work

↳ Ask about their weekend, their dog, their side project. Actually remember the details.

Example: “How was Max’s first soccer game? You looked so proud in that photo!”

🖖🏼4. Acknowledge their people

↳ Celebrate their partners, families, even friends who support them.

Example: “We’d love to see your partner at the team BBQ. Would they be open to joining us?”

🖐🏼5. Be radically transparent

↳ Honest, kind feedback beats sugarcoating every time. Truthful & transparent feedback is a gift.

↳ Try the SBI method: Situation, Behavior, Impact

Example: “In today’s meeting (S), when you interrupted Jane (B), it shifted the room's tone (I). Can we be more mindful of that next time?”

Happy employees make the best employees. Repost if you agree 🙏🏼

Repost if you agree 🙌🏼

a person who feels appreciated will always do more than expected

From 23 to 33, my income jumped 10x 

Looking back, here are the smartest things I did:

1/ Negotiated every offer 

Not just salary, also sign-on, PTO, title, bonus, equity, & professional development budget.

I’ll share my top negotiation tips I gave Business Insider in the comments.

2/ Approached *every* job with an ownership mentality 

I stopped being just an employee. I showed that I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, wear different hats, and bring solutions (not just problems).

Remember, you are the CEO of your own career.

3/ Built a side hustle with a 9-5

I launched a coaching business while working FT at Figma and made +$30K in my first year.

It was proof that optionality is everything.  

4/ Invested in my personal brand 

I started posting on LinkedIn 3 years ago, and it genuinely changed my life. 

It helped me leave my tech career, replace my salary in < 1 year, and start living my dream life.

5/ Got ✨great✨ at articulating my impact

This one’s important. I learned early on that good work alone isn’t enough. What matters is whether people see it and believe it.

You need receipts. Track outcomes, tell the story behind your results, and build relationships internally. Make it so easy for people to advocate for you.

Lastly, if you’re not learning, earning, or growing in your role. 
It’s time to leave. No one can make this decision for you.

And there is a huge opportunity cost if you choose to stay at a place with no growth. 

If you’re ready to grow in your PM career: to land a strategic role, increase your impact and income, and feel confident doing it…

I help senior professionals level up their leadership and land roles they love (in big tech or not)

Want to accelerate your career?

Apply here to work with me: https://lnkd.in/d8e-JAPt

My best career advice:

At every job, you should either learn or earn. Either is fine. Both is best.

If neither, quit.

🔥 17 Remote Job Boards You Didn't Know About (until now)

Included the links below 👇🏼

1/ Wellfound - https://wellfound.com/jobs

↳ Over 130K remote jobs from top companies to fast-growing startups

2/ Working Nomads - https://lnkd.in/ewwG6j-a

↳ A curated list of remote jobs for the modern working nomad

3/ #Web3#Web3 - https://web3.career/ 

↳ Connecting blockchain professionals with Web3 companies

4/ RemoteOK - https://remoteok.com/

↳ Has 129000+ remote jobs as a Developer, Designer, Copywriter, Customer Support Rep, and more.

5/ We Work Remotely - https://lnkd.in/eTb-W9zT

↳ One of the largest remote work communities in the world with over 6M visitors

6/ Jobspresso - https://jobspresso.co/

↳ Expertly curated remote jobs in tech, marketing, customer support, and more

7/ FlexJobs - https://www.flexjobs.com/

↳ Find Remote, Hybrid, & Flexible Jobs (all verified with over 10K+ reviews)

8/ JustRemote - https://justremote.co/

↳ Discover fully and partially remote jobs from the greatest remote working companies

9/ StillHiring.Today - https://stillhiring.today/

↳ A community-sourced, no-pay-to-play, ungated, BS-free list of tech companies who are still ACTUALLY hiring by Ross Pomerantz and Adam Schoenfeld

10/ Wiseful

↳ Central layoff list used by thousands of companies to hire - updated weekly.

11/ Jobgether - https://jobgether.com/

↳ Access to over 100K remote jobs that fit your lifestyle

12/ Underdog.io -Apply to top tech jobs in 60 seconds. A place where companies apply to you - https://underdog.io/

↳ Apply to top tech startups hiring in NYC, SF + remote jobs with one application

13/ BuiltinTech - https://builtin.com/jobs

↳ Tech jobs, news, and resources for local tech communities

14/ Remote.co - https://remote.co/

↳ 146 remote companies and virtual teams answer your top questions about remote work

15/ SkipTheDrive - https://lnkd.in/e8YAUwTx

↳ Search for flexible, remote & hybrid jobs from thousands of jobs

16/ Remotive - https://remotive.com/

↳ Find tech remote jobs (get 100+ jobs posted per day with the Remotive accelerator)

17/ Virtual Vocations, Inc. - https://lnkd.in/etqHtmWR

↳ A job service that provides job seekers with hand-screened remote job leads

repost to help your network get hired 🫶

17 Remote Job Listings You Didn't Know Existed (until now)

AI can get you hired 🤯

My community has been LOVING this trick for standing out.

Here’s how to turn your LinkedIn profile into a ✨killer✨ personal website < 3 minutes
__

1. ☝🏼 Download your LinkedIn profile as a PDF
2. ✌🏼 Go to Replit(.)com + Create App 
3. 🤟🏼 Click Design + drop in the PDF with this prompt in ChatGPT (just tag “Replit”) 
__

“Create a modern, dark-mode personal website using my LinkedIn PDF. Include sections for Home, About, Experience, and Projects. Add smooth scroll navigation, a clean grid layout, my profile image, my updated headline, and space for key stats. Use a deep charcoal background with minimal neon accents. Make it look custom coded and easy to update.”

___

4. 🤟🏼 Click “Start Designing.”
5. ✋🏼 Adjust the content + layout
6. ✅ Hit publish and share live ✨ (that’s it!) 

Congrats 🥳, you’ve created a beautiful, shareable version of your story 🎊

Now here’s a bigger reason why this matters (and why vibe coding is having a moment).

While everyone’s raving over Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and other “AI-first dev tools”, I personally found it intimidating as a non-technical person.

And I found Replit is one of the best places to take my genuine curiosity into an actual *tangible* product (and bring my ideas 💡 → life)

(But if you are *technical*, Replit still works with Claude Code).

I’d love to invite you to build something from zero to 1 (and see how fun it can be!)

📌 Bring your creative ideas to life here: https://lnkd.in/dNGeWji5

#ReplitPartner

Brand partnership • Tech Creator (400k+) & Founder | Ex-LinkedIn, Meta, Figma | Solopreneur, TEDx Speaker & LinkedIn Learning Instructor helping you build AI literacy ✨

Turn your LinkedIn Profile Into a Personal Website

7 Korean proverbs that will change your perspective (in life and career). 

What still sticks with me from childhood to adulthood (instilled by my Dad): 

"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮" ✨

Which one resonates with you?

📌 Share and follow Jean Kang for more.

7 Korean Proverbs That Will Change Your Perspective 

You’re gonna want to 📌 this

OpenAI shared prompt hacks by job function + work use case 🙌🏼

(and they’re REALLY good)  

Think:

- IT
- HR
- Sales
- Product
- Marketing
- Managers
- Engineering
- Customer Success

You're welcome 🤗

Dropping the link to OpenAI Academy  ⬇️ 

Learn how to use ChatGPT for any role: https://lnkd.in/gwvkduCJ

Share this with your work bestie 🫶🏼

PM roles in tech explained in 1 min 😉

Product and Program Managers sound similar, but they’re NOT the same 🙈

Watch till the end to see the difference (and see which one fits YOU best)

If you’ve been wanting to land a Program Manager role and know you can do it *really* well (without having the PM title).

That’s exactly what I’m helping professionals do :)

If you’re ready to grow in your career, to land a strategic role, increase your impact + income…

I’d love to help you level up your influence, articulate your value and land a job that you love (without needing another degree or certification)

Apply here to work with me: https://rb.gy/q08oyc

Lester Chng

Cyber CEOs Brand Strategist. I build your brand as you build your business. | Senior Cybersecurity Advisor | Author | Naval Officer | CISSP | 🇨🇦🇸🇬 |

You head a leading cybersecurity firm.
But your online presence doesn't reflect it.

In fact, being invisible is damaging. 

You understand the power of thought leadership.
You know LinkedIn shapes deal flow and adds credibility in the industry.
You just don’t have the cycles (or the copy) to share your expertise and experience.

You have stories worth telling.

The insights from being in the trenches.
The deep conversations with your ace teams.
The hard discussions with your clients. 

Don’t let this wisdom go to waste.

That’s where I come in.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How we work together.

Profile & Positioning
=> Rebuild your LinkedIn profile so visitors see industry authority, not “another vendor.”

Content engine
=> Ghostwritten posts that leverage your insights and expertise into engaging LinkedIn posts. 

Outreach campaign
=> Targeted DM campaigns and audience-building strategies that build your authority and land you on podcasts and conference stages.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You focus on growing your firm and protecting your clients.
And we will ensure the industry, clients, prospects, and investors can’t ignore it.

Let’s build the personal brand that commands the cybersecurity conversation and drives business.


Worked with global client portfolio 
- MSPs
- MSSPs
- Agentic AI SOC
- AI-powered GRC 
- Operational Resilience 

Senior Advisor, Financial Crimes Unit Exercises. BMO Fusion Centre

Execution of Financial Crimes Unit Exercise and Drill Program
• Design and execution of exercises and drills to operationalize the Financial Crimes Unit Fusion Centre
• Scenario creation and exercise execution for Information Security, Enterprise Fraud Management, Physical Security, and Global Crisis and Continuity Management teams 
• Providing effective challenge of incident response readiness through exercise observation
• Execution of enterprise-wide Purple Team Exercise


Cybersecurity Exercises: Purple Team, Ransomware, DDoS, Malware, Data Corruption, Data Breach, 3rd Party Incidents
Fraud Exercises: ATOs, Attack on Payment systems, Business Email Compromise, PII Breach
Physical Security Exercise: Active Assailant, Civil Unrest, Bomb Threats
Crisis Exercises: Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity, Operational Resilience, Fire Incidents, Natural Disasters, Utilities Disruption

Weird LinkedIn tip for 2026. 

You are not going to like this. 

Don’t be slave to AI. 

Write your posts manually. 
Connect without automation. 
Draft your messages on yr own. 

Don’t fall prey to AI slop. 

Happy new year!

Looking forward to reading your words.

undefined undefined

bootcamp

Sign up here:
https://catalystcorporatetraining.classe365.com/form/view/AutoBootCamp?_gl=1*9rfqtg*_ga*MTQ4NTczNDM0MC4xNjk4MjQxODM1*_ga_YYXBQS6S5Q*MTcwNzgzMzEyNi4xODEuMS4xNzA3ODMzMTYwLjI2LjAuMA

LinkedIn Ghostwriter for Cyber CEOs | Authority. Trust. Leads. | Senior Cybersecurity Advisor | Author | Naval Officer | CISSP | 🇨🇦🇸🇬 |

I once received AAR feedback from an executive that changed how I view these "mundane" reports.

After-action reports are very important to the success of an exercise program. Without it, there is no chance of leadership buy-in, and soon the program will fizzle out.

These are typical uses/benefits of an AAR.

• capture lessons learned
• provide recap of proceedings
• serve as evidence for risk/auditors
• feeds into enterprise-wide action item register

On this occasion, I drafted the AAR for a fraud-related exercise. It involved many operational teams including executive involvement. The AAR was signed and sent.

One feedback from an executive stood out.

"It had alot of detail, but I don't know if it was a success".

That struck me. We just missed an opportunity.

An opportunity to highlight:
• the alignment with the overall security program
• the collaboration involved to run the exercise
• the advancement in teamwork 
• the reduction of risk

Include a clear story and highlight the win in your AAR.

Don't take these exercises and artefacts for granted.
Each event builds confidence, familiarity, and resilience.
Don't let it go unnoticed; give it its due credit.

P.S Have you seen AARs put to good use?

Most cyber CEOs think LinkedIn is about “posting more.”

It’s about posting with a positioning equation:
Authority + Trust + Leads

Don't start without a clear content strategy.

Here’s the simple way to build your content calendar.

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆
1. Build authority so you become the obvious expert.
Authority is when your audience says,
“This person knows the space.”

Teach one niche concept per post (one takeaway).

Share your lived experienced not conceptual ones.

Break down “why this fails” in real environments.

Add proof when possible:
Lessons, patterns, results, before/after.
Authority posts go deep in your niche.
More “results, insights, wisdom.” Less "frameworks"

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁
2. Build trust so people believe in what you stand for.
Trust is when your audience says,
“I’d take a meeting with them.”
It comes from clarity and consistency, not hype.

Show how you think, how you communicate risk, and how you make tradeoffs under constraints. Use stories, principles, and honest calls on what you will and won’t do. When people understand how you deal with situations, they start to trust your delivery.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀
3. Generate leads without sounding salesy.

Direct: a clear CTA after you have earned it.

Indirect: a walkthrough of what it is like working w you.

Remove friction:
scope, timeline, roles involved, what success looks like.

Make it obvious you solve this specific problem for this specific buyer. Lead posts can be direct or indirect, and “walk-through” posts remove buying friction fast.

If you want a repeatable content calendar, stop brainstorming topics.

P.S Do you start writing without a plan?

Thanks Timothy Martens for prompt inspiration.

And Gerald Auger, Ph.D. + Mike Miller
for the reminder to include an image =)

Time is flying by. Jan is almost over. 

This is 1 thing I miss from 10 years ago. 


My lucious hair that would give me a chance at K-pop auditions. 

Just kidding. I stand no chance. 



What do u miss from 10 years ago?




Thanks sir Chris Chia for taking this pic and sending it again to me recently!

New year brings exciting new goals.

But appreciate today as u drive tmr. 

- I only have 1 long holiday a year
- I wish for more excitement
- I live in a small townhouse
- I want to invest more
- I drive an old car

- I have a car
- I have $ to invest
- I have my little home
- I am thankful for stability
- I can afford to travel overseas

Don't forget to cherish what you have as your pursue your big goals. 

P.S. What are things that we shouldn't take for granted?

How was your first full week at work?

This will happen if you don't intervene.

The Rule of the First 5 Days is a stock market indicator that states that if the market performs positively in the first 5 trading days of the year, there is a high probability that the markets will end the year positively.

Historical probabilities are between 69 - 84%.

Some of the reasons are:
Early Positioning
Investor Sentiment
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy


Bringing it back to how was your first week back at work?

Busy?
Stressed?
Juggling priorities?

Chances are if you don't make any changes, this will be how your year pans out.


If you had a great week, keep at it!

If not, time to review:
- the triggers
- the pain points
- the larger picture
- the longer term goals

Good luck for week 2!

P.S Dow has best 5-day start to year since 2006!

Done with your 2026 goal setting?

Here’s one part of my list. 

I never liked the process of studying and preparing for exams. 

Perhaps after going through the grind the Singapore education factory, I was happy to avoid tests and exam prep. 

Only to find that I was back on the exam grind during the professional courses in the navy. 
My brain held up so I did ok 😃

Left the navy and Singapore. 
Came to corporate Canada. 

Spoke to a few contacts when I arrived and realized that my military experience was not going to translate to much, at least on paper. 

So it was back to the books. 
Only this time I could choose what I wanted to do and be more intentional about how it is part of my career. 

Did CAPM as my first cert. 
Certified associate in Project Mgmt. 
I was worried exams were going to be tough so I took this entry level cert. 

In hindsight, I should have skipped it. 

Sat for PMP (Project Mgmt Professional) next as I started my first corporate role. Useful in theory and did help in interviews and impression. 

Do it. Helps u understand corporations. 

Did my CISSP (Certified Info Sys Sec Pro) next. Funny story how I decided to sit for it. All it took was for one of my team mates to say, “Just do it, it will get you security jobs”. Mind you, I was still new to cyber. This was 2019. 

So this is one of my 2026 goals. 

1. ISACA’s AAISM
Advanced in AI Security Management 

Pretty straightforward why. 

2. CLI’s CSTP
Cyber Strategy and Transformation Program

Postponed from this year. 

3. ISC2’s CCSP
Certified Cloud Security Professional

Failed this a couple of years back. 
Going to retake it. 

And a few more personal growth programs in the second half. 



What’s one goal for 2026?

Cybersecurity responsibilities don't take a holiday.

But these 3 quick checks go a long way.

Cybercriminals don't celebrate Boxing Day.
Unless they have you as the present.

While it may be too late for Christmas, perhaps do these 3 quick checks before New Year to gain some assurance that when you pull the trigger, someone will respond.

- Access to IRP and contact list
- Confirm the virtual bridge works
- Review holding statements and templates

Add a prayer and see you in 2026.

These are some tools you should have in plan for your teams in 2026. 

Response drills
Plan walkthroughs
Tabletop exercises
Scenarios discussions
Cyber range sim exercises 
Enterprise wide live exercises 

Don’t do the same thing every year and expect improved resilience. 

You are not insane are you?

What’s yr 2026 training plan like?
Or do u even have one?

Your next Cyber TTX will be miles better with this small tweak. 

Don’t rush the start of the exercise. 

I know you have been planning it for months. Your adrenaline is pumping and you assume the participants are chomping at the bit to begin. 

But don’t neglect the pre ex brief. 

Here’s why it matters. 

1. Not everyone is familiar w exercises

Some have never participated in one. 
Others can’t remember what it’s like. 
1 or 2 even have weird assumptions. 

2. Remind everyone of the Why

The stakeholders are not equally invested in the exercise or outcome. Half are wondering why they are there. 

3. A good start is important

Some exercises that start poorly can result in minutes of waffling, rabbit holes or just straight up disengagement. 

4. Questions forces a buy-in

Facilitate a short quiz or discussion. 
This makes participants feel involved and helps them warm up as well. 

5. Simple introductions helps

You will be surprised how often teams don’t know each other or what role they play in an incident. 
Take time to do a roundtable intro. 

6. Sponsor emphasis 

Allow the exercise sponsor to speak. 
This reiterates the investment, focus, and important of the exercise. 

7. Calms your nerves

Address concerns before an exercise can help mitigate against difficult scenarios such as wrong expectations and challenging stakeholders. 
There will also be disruption but touching on some issues early helps. 

The next time you plan yr exercise. 
Spend abit more time on the start. 
It will be worth it. 

P.S any other exercise faux pax?

What most Cyber CEOs post on LinkedIn 
 
- repost their company's post 
- post about the latest hack 
- random AI blog 
 
What should Cyber CEOs post on LinkedIn 
 
- customer success stories 
- lessons learned about your business 
- strong opinion about industry issues 
 
You are the leader. 
 
Lead by example. 
 
Here are more post ideas. 

Subject Matter Expertise
- insights
- pain-points
- transformation
- trends + opinion
- counter-trends
- mistakes you have seen others made

Trust
- client success stories
- decision-making dilemmas
- framework for decision-making 
- social proof
- results

Character
- guiding principles
- values
- client examples
- stories of resilience
- leadership

Authenticity
- challenges that excite you
- lessons learned
- challenges that you overcame
- best advice that you received

I trained Principle Warfare Officers. 

We assessed them on 3 attributes. 

The Principle Warfare Officer (PWO) was responsible for fighting the ship. 

This included the deployment of weapons, manoeuvres, and in many cases the control of multiple ships and aircraft to fulfil a mission. 

These are the 3 attributes. 

Knowledge 
- know the procedures 
- know the asset capabilities
- know the adversary’s capabilities 
- know the ever changing situation 

Command and control
- clarity of situation  
- clarity of instruction 
- clarity of orchestration

Creativity 
- demonstrates intuition 
- demonstrates flexibility 
- demonstrates adaptability 


In cybersecurity operations,

We assess
.
.
.
.
.

Hope you get my point. 

Happy training.

Stressed thinking of LinkedIn post ideas? 
Don't be in 2026. Know where to look.
Here's 5 places Cyber CEOs should tap for inspiration.

Are you always stuck on the draft page? 
You click on the "Write Post" button and stare at the blank page, struggling for ideas.

Then doubt creeps in. 
This idea isn't even worth sharing. 
Who would bother reading about this.
Is this even useful for my business at all?

Close page. Open email and feel "busy".

Don't go into 2026 without an content plan.

Here is where all the gems are.

1. Conversations
Everything you speak to someone in your network, take some notes. Ask some questions that you were curious about. Draw out their insights or take it as a chance to validate some of your ideas. 

That is content that showcases your interests.

2. Discovery calls
Perhaps you are leading the call, or even review transcripts from your team when they speak with clients. Pay attention to the words that the clients are using and the pain points that they face. You are literally pulling the words from their mouth. Use it.

That is content that is aligned with your ICP.

3. Team meetings
Are your team meetings boring? First you may want to change that. Add in some interesting questions to pull information from your team from their various projects and clients. 

That is content that is aligned with your offer and position.

4. Long form articles or interviews
Have you written articles or been interview previously? If yes, break those down and reuse them. Esp if you have whitepapers or other research papers. Break it up and contextualize it. No one has read those anyway.

That is content that is aligned with your insights.

5. Calendar
Look at your calendar. Review last week and look ahead for next week.
What stood out for you? What was interesting? What are you looking forward to?

That is content that is aligned with who you are.


Set this up.
Create a content bank.
Structure a content calendar.
Open the page and write. 

Don't get stuck at the blank page again.

P.S Where else can one find ideas?

Most cyber CEOs aren’t afraid to post.
They’re afraid to be misunderstood.

And 19 other myths of writing on LinkedIn. 

 1. “I’ll get DMs from random people and waste time.”
 2. “If I post about a niche topic, it’ll limit my market.”
 3. “I should wait until my messaging is perfect.”
 4. “I’ll get fact-checked and embarrassed.”
 5. “I’ll be judged by peers in the industry.”
 6. “Clients will think I’m wasting time.”
 7. “I’m not a ‘social media' person.’”
 8. “I need a hot take every time.”
 9. “I’ll look like I’m bragging.”
10. “My team will cringe.”
11. “I need perfect writing.”
12. “People will think I’m selling.”
13. “I’ll attract trolls or get dragged.”
14. “I’ll upset a partner/vendor/client.”
15. “My competitors will copy my ideas.
16. “I’m not ‘big enough’ to have opinions.”
17. “If I post, I’m giving away the secret sauce.”
18. “Need to sound super technical to be credible.”
19. “If engagement is low, it means I’m bad at this.” 

P.S which is your fav? Mine is #8  🔥

If you train easy, don't be surprised when the fight gets hard. 

Most organizations barely dive deep into risk scenarios. 
They assume ideal conditions and have many blind spots.

I interviewed Lina to learn about her experience in law enforcement, cybercrime, cybersecurity, leadership, and being an inspiration for the next generation.

𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

In your current work, what are the biggest gaps you see in how organizations prepare for and respond to cyber risk?

Look at the big picture and don’t look at things in silos. Empower your team to operate and respond in less than optimum conditions. The likelihood of an attack on a weekend or holidays rises considerably (30% higher), yet many tabletop and crisis simulations take place when the CISO and senior leaders are present. 


What practical steps can leaders take to strengthen both their teams and their organization’s overall resilience?

Build opportunities for cross-training where possible and where it makes sense; ensure teams have at least a working understanding of what other teams do will reduce redundancy and address gaps. Remember that training is never static and continuous learning helps your team with their roles currently, but more importantly, supports succession planning. 


If you enjoyed this interview series, please follow Lina. She is a passionate defender in the cybersecurity space and an inspirational leader.

P.S. What are some best cyber training practices that you have seen companies invest in?

Executive Director, office of the CISO Optiv Canada RCMP Cybercrime (ret’d)

I reviewed the LinkedIn headlines of 23 Cyber CEOs.

Not 1 mentioned these important aspects.

LinkedIn headlines are your first impression.
More precisely, the first 57 characters matter.

They are seen:
• on your profile
• during connection requests
• on the main feed via your posts
• in the comments with every response


I help [buyer] achieve [outcome] without [pain].

None of the CEOs mentioned buyer, outcome, or pain.

How would you write your headline?



[9]
CEO at [Company]
CEO at [Company]
CEO at [Company]
Founder/CEO at [Company]
Founder and CEO of [Company]
Founder and CEO at [Company]
Co-Founder & CEO at [Company]
Co-Founder & CEO at [Company]
CEO & Co-founder at [Company] - We are hiring!

[7]
CEO at [Company]| Autonomous SOC
CEO @ [Company]- Enterprise Hyper-Automation
Co-founder & CEO at [Company]| AI for Security Operations
Co-founder and CEO @ [Company] | Security Operations, at scale
Co-Founder/CEO at [Company]| Outpace attackers with agentic AI SOC Analysts
CEO @ [Company]| Executive | Entrepreneur | Revolutionizing the SOC with AI
Founder, CEO @ [Company] Autonomous SecOps & Investigation Platform with Hyperautomation.


[7]
Hiring misfits to solve security!
Tech Entrepreneur, investor and board member.
CEO at [Company] and Author of [Book] available now!
Building Your AI Knowledge Engine for Security Operations. Hiring!
Building great teams to execute on very difficult engineering problems
Tech Founder & Executive. Defender. Nation-state Hacker. Medal of Honor Recipient. Public speaker.
Empowering businesses: ChatGPT training, strategizing AI implementation, and offering tailored LLM and AI solutions for process automation.

AI tools are being used in yr org. 
Have your IR plans kept up?
Here are 4 changes to make. 

Implementing AI tools have left security team scrambling over the last couple of years to ensure it is securely deployed and monitored. 

Your incident response plans may have be neglected in the process. 

Consider these updates. 

1. Include AI related incidents 

- sensitive data exposure
- supply chain vulnerabilities 
- unauthorised model changes 

Don’t assume your plan is a catchall. 
AI asset owners don’t fully understand the security risks. 

2. Validate asset + contact list

- AI asset owners 
- data architects r crucial
- most of these folks r probably new

These AI gurus have been heads down focused on speed on implementation. They probably can’t spell cyber if u meet them for the first time on an incident call. 

3. AI specific containment

- understand the impacts 
- ask if traditional options will work

It’s going to get more complex as AI tools integrate across enterprise. It may soon become so entrenched that disabling it is a non option. 

4. Logs and investigation 

- review if current threshold is valid
- check on logs before/after go-live

You will learn to love “black boxes” and need to navigate round them. 


P.S what other areas to add?

2.

Incident response plans only play a small part in cyber resilience. 

“Do you have an IR plan?”

Is probably one of the most common question that consultants and experts use to gauge a company’s resilience. 

Many teams are happy to tick yes. 

But having a plan is merely the start. 

Here’s why:
- high turnover of staff
- fast pace of tech change
- lots of assumptions remain  
- plans get outdated due to new tech 
- teams don’t use the playbooks/plans
- primary teams hardly get trained
- secondary teams ignored 
- random cyber exercises 
- no training plan

There is barely any focus on training. 

7 men squads in the military get more training time and resources than multi-million dollar cyber defence teams protecting our financial ecosystem. 

Will having a plan alone save you?

And how long are you going to assumed your team is ready?

P.S the world is still a vulnerable place

5 LinkedIn posts that should be part of your pre-RSAC marketing plan. 

If your Head of Marketing is not bugging you to start posting on LinkedIn before RSAC, ask them why?

Even better if they tell u what to post. 

Here’s 5 posts that I will write. 

“Heading to RSAC next week. Here’s the one question I’m asking every CISO I meet.”

“One year ago, [Client Type] was struggling with [Specific Problem]. Here’s what changed.”

“Everyone’s talking about [Trending Topic] at RSA. Here’s what they’re missing.”

“We’re bringing [Specific Thing] to RSA. Here’s why we built it.”

“I have 8 meeting slots open during RSA. Here’s who I wld love to talk to.”

_____________

Here’s 3 reasons why you shld post. 


REASON 1: 
Conferences are chaotic. 

This gives you a chance to cut through the noise.  

REASON 2: 
Post-Conference follow-up success is built upon pre-conference interaction.  

Unless you are a magician and can engage random folks on the floor. 

REASON 3: 
Yr competitors are already doing so. 

Silence = Falling Behind

You don’t want to waste all that $$$$

———————

No time to write?
Overwhelmed by the preparation?
Rather spend time on client demos?

Let’s work together and take that off your plate.

How I prep for an "easy" tabletop exercise. 
 
And it takes way longer than you think. 
 
Templated tabletop exercises. 
Cyber exercises in a box. 
ChatGPT-designed TTX. 
 
Designing a tabletop exercise should get easier and easier right? 
 
Abundance of resources out there. 
Most are for free as well. 
 
How difficult can the preparation be? 
 
I'll use NIST 800-84 process as a reference. 
 
These are the details for a recent exercise. 
Audience: Multiple organizations in 1 sector 
 
𝟭.  𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 
 
This involved extensive research on the sector and the current threat landscape. Threat intelligence reports, CISA advisory, open search on latest incidents.  
 
I landed on ransomware.  
Surprise, surprise, but it was still on an uptrend for that sector. Unfortunately. 
 
𝟮. 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 
 
This was tricky because it was an unknown group of audience. They signed up just before the exercise and there was no way to determine exactly who would participate. They were also from different organizations with varying size and cyber maturity. 
 
I had to cater to a broad audience with certain opportunities to dive deeper into Cyber and technology issues. There was also a need to keep it interesting for cybersecurity professionals who may be in the crowd. 
 
𝟯. 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 
 
Extensive research is involved.  
 
Stakeholders in an incident: 
- regulatory bodies 
- ownership 
- partners 
- clients 
 
Operational requirements: 
- type of business environment 
- criticality of operations 
- type of work-setting 
 
Threat landscape: 
- latest cyber attacks in the sector 
- common security concerns 
- latest threat intelligence 
 
Scenario: 
- identifying threat vectors 
- mapping out realistic injects 
- designing facilitation questions 
 
Logistics: 
- understanding the length of the exercise 
- writing sufficient talking pts for injects 
- research on venue of the exercise 
 
Can your AI bot do all these? 
 
Maybe it can get you to 50% of the scenario and injects. 
 
But you will probably smash the screen if you try to prompt till a usable version. 
 
P.S Who else still thinks that you can download an exercise deck and pull off an engaging and effective tabletop exercise?

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