Peer to Peer Magazine

PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 24 involved with ILTA. Sometimes the simplest answers are the hardest to see. I had been to ILTA functions in the past, but it never dawned on me to get more involved and meet people with the same professional interests. I volunteered for a few easy tasks and realized that the people I'm contacting in my industry are super interesting! I had to do more, and I was referred to the relatively new LegalSEC Council. Eureka! I found my people! I did whatever I could to help without taking away from my full-time job — in case my boss is reading ;-). TIME TO REBUILD Fast forward to present day, and I'm 20 years into my second career as an IT professional. When I first started in information technology, I was an entrepreneur and brought that attitude to my company and was well-rewarded. Ten years in, I still had the same approach, but was not as fervent and went to fewer and fewer networking functions. My professional network started shrinking, but I didn't realize it because the companies I worked for were getting larger, as was my network of co-workers. Some might not see this as a bad thing, but I had put myself on an island and wasn't quite up to date on the latest issues challenging my colleagues in the technology world. This realization came when I was studying cybersecurity issues heavily. I didn't have a diverse group with which to confirm my findings, and I was out of the "real world" loop. I was in a career crisis, and I knew what I needed to do: rebuild my network. I asked a colleague for help, and it was recommended that I research getting HELPING OTHERS HELPS YOU Early in my professional career, I worked in a few different companies, earned promotions and eventually started my own business. From day one of my startup, I realized my address book was one of the most valuable resources I possessed. It allowed me to jump-start my sales, which is a task I had always avoided. However, without sales skills, my business would not survive. I was lucky to have a small, but very warm network of people willing to encourage me and, more important, listen to my sales pitches. One of the biggest lessons I learned while doing that was that people, no matter how much they like you, despise being sold to. It made me ask: How do I sell to people without pitching them? My instincts told me to help people with their problems, and a magical thing happened: People asked me about my business and how they could help me! It was hard to believe. The more I helped others, the more referrals I received. I eventually had a successful business, which I sold a few years later. SMART MOVES About the Author Richard Martinez is the most sought-after cybersecurity expert in the California information security marketplace. As a Certified Ethical Hacker, he's renowned for turning complex methods into understandable, easy-to-follow action items and applying them within the IT security industry to defeat the unconscionable actions of those trying to steal data. Richard is currently the IT Manager in an Am Law 20 firm. Contact him at romartinez@reedsmith.com. A Strong Network of Peers As I look back over the course of my career, it has become clear that a strong network of peers is critical for long-term, sustained success. Whether you're starting out or are in a lull, putting yourself out there for opportunities, such as volunteering, can help rev up your professional development. It never dawned on me to get more involved and meet people with the same professional interests.

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