Last month, I was speaking with a security team that had rolled out Security Awareness Training. On the surface, it looked like a win. Employees were reporting 40 to 50 suspicious emails each week.
But the ripple effect was real.
They had to hire a full-time analyst just to sort through the reports and unblock legitimate messages so the business could keep running smoothly.
It reminded me of something I’ve seen often.
We roll out a control with the right intent.
What we sometimes miss is the reaction it creates.
Too many leadership conversations focus on features, pricing, and demos.
What’s often left out are the edge cases, unintended consequences, and operational impact.
One simple practice that helps:
Before any new security control goes live, do an action and reaction analysis.
Ask, “What might happen next?” and “Are we ready for that?”