TheCorporateCounsel.net

Not surprisingly (based on my own in-house experience), a positive corporate culture apparently boosts company performance (i.e., higher profits) over time, but company performance doesn’t translate to a positive corporate culture. That’s according to this WSJ article, reporting results from a recent study (abstract here) on the relationship between culture and sales at 95 auto dealerships over a period of six years. Companies that performed well financially reportedly scored low on employee surveys used to evaluate culture, and companies that showed no improvement in culture became less profitable over time.

See my prior blog: “Helping the Board Understand & Impact Corporate Culture,” this WSJ post and related “Red Flags: Corporate Culture Indicators” report, and this new issue of IIA’s Tone at the Top – “More Than Just Setting the Tone: A Look at Organizational Culture.”

CIOs/CISOs Pressured to Unleash IT Projects Prematurely

According to this recently published Trustwave Security Pressures Report, a concerning 77% of more than 1,400 IT security professionals worldwide (83% in the US) are pressured to unveil IT projects that aren’t security-ready.

Additional noteworthy key findings based on a late 2015 survey include:

• Board Burden: 40% of respondents feel the most pressure in relation to their security program either directly before or after a board meeting – 1% higher than how they feel after a major data breach hits the headlines.
• Skills Gap: Shortage of security expertise has climbed from the 8th biggest operational pressure facing security pros to the 3rd biggest – behind advanced security threats and adoption of emerging technologies.
• Under Pressure: 63% of respondents felt more pressure to secure their organizations in 2015 compared to the prior 12 months, and 65% expect to feel additional pressure this year. Those numbers grew 9% and 8%, respectively, vs. last year’s report.
• Moved to Managed: The number of respondents who either already partner or plan to partner with a managed security services provider rose from 78% in last year’s report to 86% this year.

See the report’s conclusions and recommendations aimed at tempering the pressures and enhancing security, and oodles of additional resources in our “Data Security” Practice Area.

More on “The Mentor Blog”

We continue to post new items daily on our blog – “The Mentor Blog” – for TheCorporateCounsel.net members. Members can sign up to get that blog pushed out to them via email whenever there is a new entry by simply inputting their email address on the left side of that blog. Here are some of the latest entries:

– Six Tips for Board Cybersecurity Oversight
– Small Business Administration Launches Cybersecurity Webpage
– Audit Committee Agenda: Non-GAAP Measures
– Factors That Characterize a World-Class Ethics & Compliance Program
– Top 10 Most Commonly Missed Proxy Statement Items

– by Randi Val Morrison