Does It Align With Our Mission?

1. We intend to change the way community banks manage cybersecurity.
2. We intend to build an amazing company where our people can thrive.
3. We intend to help those less fortunate than us.

A while back, a mentor of mine asked if a decision I was about to make was in alignment with our mission. After talking it through, we discussed the idea of doing a self-reflection from time to time on our mission and if we’re moving in the right direction.

For me, Bedel Security’s mission isn’t a destination— we can never fully get “there”. Instead, it’s a journey or even a state of being. It’s moving in a direction towards a set of intentions day after day. Sometimes we get lost, and sometimes we run into an obstruction that forces us to change course or pivot. But we always find our way again when we align ourselves toward that beacon in the distance that is our mission.

And just like any journey, it’s good to take a look at where we’ve come from and where we’re going.

So this blog post is about me sharing that with you— “are we headed in the right direction?”

We intend to change the way community banks manage cybersecurity.

• From day one, we saw a need for community banks to have an independent, outside partner that can help with strategy, risk management, and governance— but also help with the workload. We’ve been focused on doing that for 7 years in the form of Virtual CISO Services.
  
  
• Right now, 36 financial institutions across the country have asked us to be responsible for the effectiveness and efficiency of their information security program. This year alone we've added 10 new customers.
  
  
• We’ve maintained our exclusivity with community financial institutions – other industries have asked for our help— but that’s not in alignment with our mission right now.
  
  
• We continue to build our CySPOT™ platform; a technology designed to help us manage both risk and compliance for our customers. I am very excited about the value that this will bring to the financial institutions we work with.
  
  
• When I talk to our existing customers, I hear time and time again about how the Bedel Security team makes their lives easier and how much they're getting done.
  
  
• We've had bank presidents tell us how much we've simplified and improved some of the difficult processes that they had in place before.
  
  
• I've had board members tell me how awesome it was to have such a professional person deliver their GLBA report in a way that was understandable. (They also went on to say, “if you ever let that person go we're hiring them!”
  
  
• I've had customers tell me how they wish all their vendors operate like we do.
  
  
• Above all, we’re helping people, not just the institution, but the people:
  
  
  • We’re helping people that have had their CISO retire or leave unexpectedly.
    
    
  • We’re helping people that are overloaded with too many responsibilities.
    
    
  • We’re helping people that feel uncertain about what to do next.
    
    
  • We’re helping people that want to grow their institution and want their security program to be able to keep up.
    
    
  • We’re helping people that want to feel more secure.

We intend to build an amazing company where our people can thrive.

• We've added three new amazing people to our team in the past 12 months.
  
  
• We’re looking to add another member to the team as soon as possible.
  
  
• I continue to be impressed by the “unyielding attitude towards excellence” that all of our people exhibit. We are truly all in this together.
  
  
• We’ve had some really cool team-building trips this year for our semi-annual BedelCon event, including Savannah, GA, and Bottleworks District in Indianapolis, IN.
  
  
• Our team meetings are often filled with laughter.
  
  
• While we have experienced tears of frustration, I’ve seen more tears of joy.
  
  
• I've had team members tell me that Bedel Security allows them to be better parents and better spouses. (I’ve even had their spouses say the same!)
  
  
• I’ve seen our culture outgrow me. It’s become its own self-sustaining, incredible, living thing.
  
  
• This year we've had our first major promotion. Trishia Durkin, who started with us as a Specialist back in 2020, has worked incredibly hard from day one. She has always been open to feedback and eager to learn. This year she became CISSP certified and was promoted to a vCISO Senior Advisor. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

We intend to help those less fortunate than us.

And finally, but maybe the most heartwarming of all, is how we've been able to give back through our “Unbounded Giving” program.

• We sponsor one new child in a developing country for every new customer we partner with as their virtual CISO.
  
  
• The program is an ongoing monthly sponsorship and has no cap or limit on how many children we will help.
  
  
• Our whole team tears up when we review the 36 faces of the human beings whose lives we are changing.
  
  
• Our customers experience that same warmth when we share updates for their child in our Christmas card to them.
  
  
• The gratitude, hope, and love that the children send us in their letters is indescribable.

So, where do we go from here?

In all 3 areas, we intend to grow our impact. We intend to help more community financial institutions and in bigger ways. We intend to provide opportunities for more team members and their families, so they can be fulfilled, happy, and successful. We intend to change the lives of as many underprivileged children as we can; to give them hope for a better future.

We’re built to grow and will continue to do so— on the path toward our mission. So if you know anyone who might like to be a part of this journey, either as a partner bank or as a member of our team, I encourage you to have them contact me directly at chris@bedelsecurity.com.

I'm so humbled to have the opportunity to do what we get to do. I am so grateful for the people and the blessings that go with it. I am so excited for what we can accomplish in the future.