What is Security, really? New Zealand, 12/10/01

I recently returned from a place that, in many ways, feels like the USA in 1982. If you're old enough to remember, think of the excitement that accompanied the publication of two seminal books: The visionary MegaTrends, and the eye-opening In Search of Excellence. The people of New Zealand still seem to have that practical, optimistic, open, and friendly feeling that Americans had in the early 80s. (Say more about that. The analogy may not work, but the feeling was definitely there. Recall, also, that 1982 was the last, previous recession. The automotive and consumer electronics fields were giving the US a feeling of being trounced by Japan, Inc. No, so maybe the1982 analogy won't work. How about using 1984, the year I actually read those seminal books?)

The things that make us secure haven't changed: trust, resilience, self-reliance, flexibility, and committed relationships. But the amount of energy and resources we're pouring into "security" have changed drastically. The terms of Security are now defined by two industries: The private Security industry, and the Government Security industry.

Of course, the threats to our security have grown drastically, too. But are the things that are being threatened worth what we're spending to protect them?
What do you really need, to be secure? (Distinguish from "feeling" secure, which is a whole different subject.)

Try this experiment: Put yourself in a pleasurable circumstance; say, at a favorite weekend retreat. Then reassess what you really need to protect. Achieving a sense of personal security is a lot easier when it isn't anchored in a mass of fragile personal possessions, which you must constantly protect against the onslaughts, real or speculated, of those without.

Find your own balance between dealing with and doing without. For many of us, recreational dreams involve getting away from our complications, and returning to the simplicity of a less cluttered lifestyle. So, what would be so bad about living like that all the time?

Translated into IT/Disaster Recovery and KM terms: What is truly vital, & would need to be recovered? What is really mission critical, and what, in a pinch, could you do without?
Now: How much of that would you be better off without, all the time?
(ref CRN 12.24-31/01)

And for ourselves, which things are truly enhancing our lifestyles, and which are just complicating them?