Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Beware of The Pike Effect

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”

— Sven Goran Eriksson

In the late 1800s, a fascinating experiment was conducted by researchers studying animal behavior. They placed a pike — a predatory fish — into a tank filled with smaller fish it normally preyed upon. As expected, the pike immediately began hunting and feeding.

Then the researchers inserted a glass barrier into the tank, separating the pike from the smaller fish. The pike repeatedly tried to attack its prey but slammed into the invisible barrier each time. After enough failed attempts, the pike stopped trying altogether.

Here’s the surprising part: eventually the glass barrier was removed. The smaller fish were once again free in the tank with the pike. But, the pike didn’t attack them. Even though the barrier was gone, the pike had learned that trying was pointless. It had conditioned itself t...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

When the World Shifts Overnight

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

— Marcus Aurelius

This past weekend brought sudden geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel against targets in Iran — followed by Iran’s response — reminded the world how quickly the strategic landscape can shift.

Opinions will vary. But one reality does not: stability is never permanent. The world moves whether you’re ready or not.

None of us controls geopolitics. But every leader controls how seriously they take preparation.

In security circles, we call it war-gaming. In business, it’s scenario planning. In leadership, it’s the discipline of asking a simple question: If this changes, what does it change for us? Not from fear. From responsibility.

When I teach the CARVER methodology — and what I call CARVER Le...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

One Dying Quail Per Week

"Improve by 1% each day and in just one year, you'll be 37 times better."

— James Clear

In the classic ’80s baseball comedy Bull Durham, Nuke Laloosh (played by Tim Robbins) gets the call every minor leaguer dreams about - the promotion to “the Show,” i.e., the major leagues. His mentor, Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), hears the news in a smoky pool hall. He’s a little drunk. A little wounded. And fully aware that he will never receive that call himself.

Crash is smarter. More polished. A true student of the game. But Nuke has the million-dollar arm. “All my body parts put together don’t add up to seven cents a pound,” Crash says with brutal honesty.

Then he delivers a short, drunken monologue about the razor-thin margin between good and great to Nuke:

“Know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It’s 25 hits… There’s 25 weeks in a season. That means if you...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

CARVER Leadership and 300 Spartans

“Molon labe!" ("Come and take them.")

— King Leonidas I

In 480 BC, at a narrow coastal pass called Thermopylae, a small Greek force stood against the massive invading army of Persian King Xerxes. According to legend, 300 Spartan warriors led by King Leonidas held the chokepoint for three days against overwhelming odds. Though ultimately defeated, their stand delayed the Persian advance and galvanized the rest of Greece to unite and fight back.

The story was later immortalized in 300, where King Leonidas is portrayed as the embodiment of defiant courage. But beyond the cinematic slow motion and dramatic speeches lies something more practical: a leadership model built on standards, discipline, and unity.

That’s where CARVER Leadership comes into focus.

Leadership is choosing to stay when others are free to leave.

C – Capability

Leonidas selected warriors...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

There is No Tomorrow!

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today."

— Chinese Proverb

I was scrolling YouTube last Thursday when a clip from Rocky III popped into my feed. There was Apollo Creed - played by the late, great Carl Weathers - in Rocky’s face, sweat flying, voice raised, demanding urgency: “There is no tomorrow!”

The classic movie line (and popular meme) felt less like a scene and more like a direct message.

Four months ago, I was in peak shape. I trained for a half marathon while lifting consistently. I hit the "CrossFit Total" of 1,000 pounds across bench, squat, and deadlift. I proved to myself that strength and endurance could still coexist.

Then I took “a few days off.”

You know the math. A few days became a week. A week became a month. Suddenly, it was four months of zero workouts and a steady rotation of pizza, cheeseburgers, and ic...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Being a Good Boy

“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”

— Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers)

This weekend I asked my three-year-old son what I should write about in my Monday Morning Memo. Without hesitation, he said, “Being a good boy.”

Simple. Clear. No qualifiers. No corporate jargon. No performance metrics. Just… be good.

At three years old, being a “good boy” means sharing toys, listening to mom and dad, not hitting, helping clean up, and saying “thank you.” It’s about behavior, not status. Effort, not titles. Character, not credentials.

Somewhere along the road to adulthood, we complicate that idea. We replace “be good” with “be successful,” “be important,” or “be impressive.” We measure ourselves by promotions, followers, revenue, or recognition. But underneath all the layers, the core question hasn’t ...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

In Memory of a Friend and Mentor

“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in others the conviction and the will to carry on.”

— Walter Lippmann

Dear A,

The world lost a great American patriot last week. Leo “The Godfather of CARVER” Labaj passed away peacefully at his home in Las Vegas, surrounded by those who loved him.

Leo was my boss, my friend, my colleague, and my mentor for more than 25 years. When it came time for my first overseas assignment with the CIA back in 2002, I stuck my head into Leo’s office and asked if he had any advice for my first TDY. Without missing a beat, in that unmistakably Leo tone, he said, “Yeah—don’t f**k it up.”

Classic Leo.

Behind the humor, though, was a man who taught me nearly everything I know about physical security and counterintelligence operations. His lessons weren’t theoretical - they were forged through experience, judgment, and a de...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Autonomy Isn't a Switch. It's a Spectrum

“Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult."

— Carl von Clausewitz

Dear A,

I just returned from a weeklong conference on Clearwater Beach called Utilities Unite, focused on critical infrastructure protection and hosted by the global security integration firm Convergint. Over the course of the week, I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote titled How to Think Like a Spy, participate on a panel, and lead a hands-on workshop on the CARVER Methodology. While the sessions covered a wide range of emerging threats and technologies, one theme consistently rose to the surface: the future of critical infrastructure protection will be defined by how well we understand and manage the autonomy of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI is undeniably the future of security, just as it is becoming the backbone of nearly every other industry. That sa...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

— African Proverb

Dear A,

I’m writing this on a quiet Sunday night from the JW Marriott on Clearwater Beach. Tomorrow, I’ll step into a weeklong Utilities Unite Conference hosted by Convergint - one of the leaders in security and technology integration - where I’ve been invited to serve as a keynote speaker, sit on a discussion panel, and lead a workshop.

It’s an honor, especially because it’s happening just 90 minutes from my home. Opportunities like this are meaningful - not just because of the platform, but because they allow me to share the CARVER Methodology and the experiences that shaped it.

But as I sit here overlooking the water, one thing is crystal clear: I’m not here alone.

With me, in spirit and in reality, are my teammates, business partners, colleagues, friends, family, supp...

Monday Security Memo

Intellectual Firepower for Professionals

The Floor is Lava (Or Is It?)

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear."

— George Addair

Dear A,

If you have kids, you’ve probably played The Floor Is Lava. I know my three-year-old son loves it.

The rules are simple. You scatter pillows, paper, clothes - anything you can find - across the floor. Those become your “stones.” The carpet, tile, or rug beneath them? That’s lava. The goal is to hop from stone to stone without touching the floor, eventually making it to safety - usually the couch.

Like most kids’ games, there’s music involved. In our house, we blast the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme while my son pretends he’s Indiana Jones racing toward the treasure. The game has been around for generations, and now there are even plastic lava stones you can buy - different shapes, sizes, and distances apart. Add balance beams. Add rope swings. Increase the difficulty.

It’s fun. But it’...