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10 Ways to Build Resilience

Resilience refers to how well you can deal with and bounce back from the difficulties of life. It can mean the difference between handling pressure and losing your cool. Resilient people tend to maintain a more positive outlook and cope with stress more effectively.

Research has shown that while some people seem to come by resilience naturally, these behaviors can also be learned. Whether you're going through a tough time now or you want to be prepared for future challenges, you can build resilience by:

• Finding purpose
• Believing in yourself
• Developing a social network
• Embracing change
• Being optimistic
• Nurturing yourself
• Developing problem-solving skills
• Establishing goals
• Taking action
• Committing to building skills over time

Find a Sense of Purpose

Finding a sense of purpose can help you find meaning in life's challenges. Instead of being discouraged by your problems, with a defined purpose, you'll be more motivated to learn from past experiences and keep going.

Examples of purposes include:

• Building a support system of loved ones
• Giving a voice to a social movement
• Leading a healthy lifestyle
• Learning about different cultures
• Making art or music
• Serving your community

In the face of emotional hardship—such as the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship —finding a sense of purpose can be especially important in your recovery. This might mean becoming involved in your community, cultivating your spirituality , or participating in activities that are meaningful to you.

Believe in Your Abilities

Having confidence in your own ability to cope with the stresses of life can play an important part in resilience. Becoming more confident in your own abilities, including your ability to respond to and deal with a crisis , is a great way to build resilience for the future.

Listen for negative comments in your head . When you hear them, practice immediately replacing them with positive ones, such as, "I can do this," "I'm a great friend/mother/partner," or "I'm good at my job."

Research has demonstrated that your  self-esteem plays an important role in coping with stress and recovering from difficult events. Remind yourself of your strengths and accomplishments.

Develop a Strong Social Network

It's important to have people you can confide in . Having caring, supportive people around you acts as a protective factor during times of crisis. While simply talking about a situation with a friend or loved one won't make your troubles go away, it allows you to share your feelings, get support, receive positive feedback, and come up with possible solutions to your problems.

Embrace Change

Flexibility is an essential part of resilience. By learning how to be more adaptable, you'll be better equipped to respond when faced with a life crisis. Resilient people often utilize these events as an opportunity to branch out in new directions. While some people may be crushed by abrupt changes, highly resilient individuals are able to adapt and thrive.

Be Optimistic

Staying optimistic during dark periods can be difficult, but maintaining a hopeful outlook is an important part of resiliency. What you are dealing with may be difficult, but it's important to remain hopeful and positive about a brighter future.

Positive thinking does not mean ignoring the problem in order to focus on positive outcomes. It means understanding that setbacks are temporary and that you have the skills and abilities to combat the challenges you face.

Nurture Yourself

When you're stressed, it can be all too easy to neglect your own needs. Losing your appetite, ignoring exercise, and not getting enough sleep are all common reactions to a crisis situation. Instead, focus on building your self-nurturance skills, even when you're troubled. Make time for activities that you enjoy.

By taking care of your own needs, you can boost your overall health and resilience and be fully ready to face life's challenges.

Develop Problem-Solving Skills

Research suggests that people who are able to come up with solutions to a problem tend to cope more productively with stress compared to those who cannot find solutions to problems. Whenever you encounter a new challenge, make a quick list of some of the potential ways you could solve the problem.

Experiment with different strategies and focus on developing a logical way to work through common problems. By practicing your problem-solving skills on a regular basis, you will be better prepared to cope when a serious challenge emerges.

Establish Goals

Crisis situations are daunting. They may even seem insurmountable. Resilient people are able to view these situations in a realistic way and then set reasonable goals to deal with the problem.

When you find yourself becoming overwhelmed by a situation, take a step back to simply assess what is before you. Brainstorm possible solutions, and then break them down into manageable steps.

Take Action

Simply waiting for a problem to go away on its own only prolongs the crisis. Instead, start working on resolving the issue immediately. While there may not be any fast or simple solution, you can take steps toward making your situation better and less stressful.

Focus on the progress that you have made thus far and planning your next steps, rather than becoming discouraged by the amount of work that still needs to be accomplished.

Actively working on solutions will also help you feel more in control. Rather than just waiting for things to happen, being proactive allows you to help make your goals a reality.

Keep Working on Your Skills

Resilience may take time to build, so don't get discouraged if you still struggle to cope with problematic events. Everyone can learn to be resilient and it doesn't involve any specific set of behaviors or actions. Resilience can vary dramatically from one person to the next.

Focus on practicing these skills, as well as the common characteristics of resilient people, but also remember to build on your existing strengths.

American Psychological Association. Resilience .

Ronen T. The role of coping skills for developing resilience among children and adolescents . The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education. 2021:345-368. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-64537-3_14

Schaefer SM, Morozink Boylan J, van Reekum CM, et al. Purpose in life predicts better emotional recovery from negative stimuli .  PLoS One . 2013;8(11):e80329. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080329

Wågan FA, Darvik MD, Pedersen AV. Associations between self-esteem, psychological stress, and the risk of exercise dependence .  Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2021;18(11):5577. doi:10.3390/ijerph18115577

Scheuplein M, van Harmelen AL. The importance of friendships in reducing brain responses to stress in adolescents exposed to childhood adversity: a preregistered systematic review . Current Opinion in Psychology. 2022;45:101310. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101310

Guerrini Usubini A, Varallo G, Granese V, et al. The impact of psychological flexibility on psychological well-being in adults with obesity . Front Psychol. 2021;12. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636933

Narasimhan M, Allotey P, Hardon A. Self care interventions to advance health and wellbeing: a conceptual framework to inform normative guidance . BMJ. 2019:l688. doi:10.1136/bmj.l688

Tan CS, Tan SA, Mohd Hashim IH, et al. Problem-solving ability and stress mediate the relationship between creativity and happiness . Creativity Research Journal. 2019;31(1):15-25. doi:10.1080/10400419.2019.1568155

Wolsink I, Den Hartog DD, Belschak FD, Oosterwijk S. Do you feel like being proactive today? Trait-proactivity moderates affective causes and consequences of proactive behavior .  PLoS One . 2019;14(8):e0220172. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0220172

American Psychological Association (APA).  The road to resilience .

Anderson L. Alcohol Abuse. In: Deviance: Social Constructions and Blurred Boundaries . Oakland, CA: University of California Press; 2017: 267.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Building Resilience

Everyone faces challenges and hardship at times.

Resilience is your ability to cope with and bounce back from stress and adversity, and hopefully even grow through the experience. It is sometimes referred to as “thriving” … and not just surviving.

Resilient people are more likely to ...

• meet the demands of their academic/work and personal lives successfully
• take action to deal with challenges, problems, and setbacks
• seek support and assistance when they need it
• know when to stop, rest, and replenish inner resources
• have a sense of independence, self-efficacy, and self-worth
• form and maintain positive, mutually-respectful relationships with others
• have a sense of purpose and goals for the future

Resilience is not a fixed state. You may be more resilient at different times in your life than others. Most importantly, resilience can be learned, practiced, developed, and strengthened.

Learn more ...

What is resilience?

Resilience is an individual’s ability to positively cope with stress and adversity – bouncing back to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of adversity to enhance flexibility and overall functioning. Resilience has multi-dimensional aspects (Wong, 2012) including:

• Cognitive: How events are interpreted (cognitive style, appraisal, attribution) and how daily stressors and life circumstances are negotiated (coping)
• Behavioral: Habits of persistence and endurance in face of obstacles and failures (behavioral practice and reinforcement)
• Motivational : Clear sense of life purpose and commitment (will to live) 
• Existential/spiritual: Sense of larger purpose and meaning of human life (meaning and life purpose)
• Relational: Sense of social connectedness, engagement, and altruism 
• Emotional: Ability to tolerate negative emotions and rejection and to maintain emotional confidence and hopefulness (emotion regulation, emotional intelligence)

Resilience stems from the interaction of a person with their environment and the resulting processes that either promote well-being or protect them against the overwhelming influence of risk factors.

All individuals will face some challenges to well-being and thriving throughout life. Learning to work through these challenges is necessary for basic survival, but also offers a powerful opportunity for enhancing growth and well-being.

How to build resilience

Social engagement.

Cultivating social connections – and avoiding social isolation – is one of the best ways to build resilience. Positive peer relationships and supportive interaction with family, faculty, and staff are known to be important factors in students’ academic performance and emotional well-being.

• Find ways to connect with other students in meaningful ways
• Unplug, and interact with others face-to-face
• Join a student group, organization, or team
• Volunteer (you can start at Cornell’s Public Service Center)
• Practice random acts of kindness
• Start conversations; ask questions and be an active listener; look people in the eyes and say “thank you”
• Get to know your professor or TA

Self-awareness and self-care

Self-awareness is your capacity to clearly understand your own strengths, weaknesses, emotions, values, natural inclinations, tendencies, and motivation. Self-care refers to behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes that support your emotional well-being and physical health.

• Eat well, move your body, and get enough sleep
• Manage stress
• Practice self-compassion
• Cultivate opportunities for personal growth; develop interests outside of your field or major
• Make time for quiet reflection through meditation , prayer, journaling, yoga, spending time in nature, or practicing gratitude
• Play, and have fun!

Attention and focus

Attention allows you to tune out information, sensations, and perceptions that are not relevant at the moment and instead focus your energy on the information that is important. A benefit of undivided focus is the increased likelihood of achieving a flow state, characterized by Hungarian psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, as “ the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”

• Train your mental focus through meditation, visualization, deep breathing exercises, thought-stopping exercises, or other techniques
• Focus on one thing at a time
• Avoid multi-tasking
• Unplug; take a break from checking your phone, especially when studying. Turning off your phone (or the sound) will give you periods of uninterrupted focus while preparing for an exam or presentation.
• Listen to classical music (or other music without lyrics) or natural soundscapes like ocean waves, wind, or birdsong to tune out stimuli and help you focus on the task at hand

Finding meaning is the act of making sense of – and exploring the significance of – an experience or situation. Research shows that cultivating a sense of meaning in your life can contribute more to positive mental health than pursuing happiness.

• Come to understand your purpose: examine your strengths and talents, develop skills you want, recognize your values and pursue interests and passions, and live your own unique combination of these
• Develop realistic goals and work toward them
• Find ways to help others
• Keep a long-term perspective and consider stressors in broader context
• Embrace change
• Reflect on what's going well and what's not
• Explore spiritual or religious practices that fit your world view and values
• Strive to accept what you cannot change; make conscious choices to take action where you can influence a process, outcome, or relationship

“Growth mindset”

Cultivating a “growth mindset” can be an important part of building resilience. It is the opposite of a “fixed mindset,” when you believe that your intelligence and abilities are fixed, innate traits that you can’t change. Instead, a “growth mindset” acknowledges that you can learn from challenges, and through these experiences can increase your intellect and abilities.

• Leave the “genius” myth behind – achievement requires hard work, not just natural talent
• Focus on “brain training” – your brain is like a muscle that needs to work to get stronger
• Prioritize learning over approval, and the process over the end result
• View challenges and set-backs as opportunities to grow, to learn something new
• Acknowledge and embrace your imperfections, and try different learning tactics
• Applaud your effort, and not just your inherent skill
• Avoid comparing yourself to others – we all have different strengths and learn differently  

Qualities of resilience

The “Framework for Building Student Resilience” below identifies skills and goals that foster and sustain student resilience.

• In blue: Skill areas that support resilience (see details below graphic)
• In maroon: personal qualities that develop as resilience grows
• In orange: The pathways through which students can develop and strengthen their resilience

Personal qualities developed through Social Engagement

• Generosity: Being kind in thought and behavior towards others.
• Integrity: Being in sync with one’s values and beliefs and to consistently behave in ways that reflect those principles. Doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
• Authenticity: Being true to one’s personality, spirit, or character. Not false or imitative in speech or action.
• Humility: Being modest, and able to receive joy from others’ success without one’s ego getting in the way.

Personal qualities developed through Self-awareness and Self-care

• Self-regulation: The capacity to alter one’s behaviors based on internal values and social expectations. Behaviorally, it is the ability to act in your long-term best interest, consistent with your deepest values. Emotionally, it is the ability to calm yourself down when you are upset, cheer yourself up when you are down, know when you’ve exceeded you’re ability, and know when to seek support from others.
• Persistence: A personality trait related to stamina, and “stickability.” It is the "voluntary continuation of a goal-directed action in spite of obstacles, difficulties, or discouragement." (Peterson and Seligman)
• Tolerance for adversity : The capacity to endure emotional pain/hardship during an instance of serious or continued difficulty. This means learning to accept, even enjoy, hard work and challenge; adapt to changes and unknowns; turn challenges into opportunities; and use humor to keep things in perspective.
• Cognitive (re)framing: Optimism and pessimism both tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies. There can be a connection between what you expect and do, and how well your life goes. Cognitive reframing is a practical technique that helps you notice negative thoughts and replace them with more positive thoughts or perspectives. This is a vital skill for improving confidence and thriving in the midst of adversity.
• Healthy habits : Keeping healthy physical habits (getting enough sleep, eating well, managing stress , keeping alcohol use in check , practicing safer sex , etc.) help build a strong foundation for resilience and emotional well-being.

Personal qualities developed through Attention & Focus

• Focus: Being able to sustain concentration, attention, and effort to achieve a goal.
• Curiosity: A desire to know; inquisitive interest in others' concerns; interest leading to inquiry.
• Flexibility: The ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing circumstances; being in the present moment and responding to a situation by changing or persisting with behavior in the service of chosen values.

Personal qualities developed through Finding Meaning

• Purpose : Finding value or significance in something; holding a sense of life purpose.
• Self-acceptance: Recognizing “oneself” or one's condition without attempting to change it, protest, or exit; the action or process of believing oneself to be adequate or suitable.
• Gratitude: An attitude you can choose, even when things are difficult. When things go well, you can be grateful and savor the moment. When things go poorly, you can choose to focus on the positive things your life, and remember that negative situations are temporary.
• Hope: A state of mind that leads to optimism. "Hope literally opens us up, removes the blinders of fear and despair and allows us to see the big picture," says the social psychologist Barbara L. Fredrickson.
• Optimism: A cognitive outlook or tendency to look upon the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome even in difficult times. Confidence and hopefulness in the belief that good outcomes will eventually occur.

Getting help

If you’re struggling, we can help. Schedule an appointment with a Cornell Health counselor , or stop by Let’s Talk for a free walk-in consultation.

Other resources for support – academic, emotional, and social – are listed on  Mental Health at Cornell .

See also ...

• Appointments
• Counseling & Psychiatry
• Stress Management

Trusted resources …

• Cornell’s Learning Strategies Center
• Cornell Career Services
• Mental Health at Cornell

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Building resilience, promoting wellbeing

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Building Resilience PowerPoint

Updated:  14 Aug 2020

A 29 slide editable PowerPoint to use in the classroom when learning about resilience.

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Use this  teaching resource  in the classroom when learning about tackling bullying and using strategies to build resilience.

This  teaching presentation  includes key information, discussion points and class activities for:

• what bullying is and is not
• where bullying can happen
• what cyberbullying is
• how bullying can affect our emotions
• how to be emotionally resilient
• learning to use resilience strategies.

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Resilience in Positive Psychology: How to Bounce Back

Some people are knocked down by challenges, but they return as a stronger person more steadfast than before.

We call these people resilient.

A resilient person works through challenges by using personal resources, strengths, and other positive capacities of psychological capital  like hope, optimism, and self-efficacy .

Overcoming a crisis via resiliency is often described as “bouncing back” to a normal state of functioning. Being resilient is also positively associated with happiness.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Resilience Exercises for free . These engaging, science-based exercises will help you to effectively deal with difficult circumstances and give you the tools to improve the resilience of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

• Let’s Start at the Beginning: Resilience

Environments for Growth

How do i become more resilient, developing a mindset that fosters success, identify and leverage your strengths, learn to perceive obstacles as challenges rather than hindrances, focus on progress, not goals, practice your abc’s, a take-home message, let’s start at the beginning: resilience.

Relationships play a vital role in building the resilience of an individual. This starts at a young age when we are heavily influenced by our guardians and parents. More resilient children tend to be raised with an authoritative parenting style, rather than authoritarian or passive parenting styles.

The authoritative parenting style displays the qualities of warmth and affection that also provide structure and support to the child. Baumrinds’ (1971, 2013) theory of parenting styles highlights why authoritative parenting is the ideal approach to raising a well rounded, independent, self-reliant, and self-controlled individual.

Opposing this is the authoritarian parenting style, which can result in rebellious or dependent children who experience frequent distrust and thus, tend to be withdrawn from others.

Lopez and Snyder (2009) explain several protective factors for psychological resilience, concluding that parenting style is just one of many factors affecting resilience.

Lopez and Synder also consider parental educational level, socio-economic status and home environment (organized vs. disorganized) as strong influences in the development of a child’s psychological resilience.

Many researchers similar conclusions about Baumrinds’ categorization of parenting styles. The type of relationship, as well as the type of person in the relationship, play big roles in the development of resilience. When positive relationships occur, well-adjusted and rule-abiding behaviors are valued; these influence strong positive effects on resilience levels.

Characteristics of resilience include cognitive skills, personality differences, problem-solving ability, self-regulation , and adaptability to stress. In early relationships and supportive environments, children can develop tools that subconsciously develop their psychological resilience and these aforementioned skills.

Lopez and Snyder mention these key protective individual factors as:

• Positive self-image;
• Problem-solving skills;
• Self-regulation;
• Adaptability;
• Faith/understanding the meaning and one’s purpose;
• Positive outlook;
• Skills and talents that are valued by self and community;
• General acceptance by others.

Factors such as public safety, availability to health care, access to green space, etc., all impact the development of an individual and a community’s resilience. The greater the social care and holistic environments, the more likely people will be exposed to the support structures that can help them when life “gets hard.”

Education is one major factor to consider. Schools could be epicentres of developing resilience, as well as safe spaces to practice and develop these skills. Prosocial organizations such as sports teams or clubs can also be hotspots of resilience-training. These environments enable individuals to develop a positive self-image, believe in their strength, and find the purpose amidst change.

A core part of the positive education movement is creating prosocial organizations and effective schools.

For a great example of how to implement resilience in your own environment, check out the  Penn Resiliency Program that links wellbeing and resilience together. Penn designs the program to fit the individual needs, goals, and culture of organizations.

Download 3 Free Resilience Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients to recover from personal challenges and turn setbacks into opportunities for growth.

Download 3 Free Resilience Tools Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

Even if the environment you grew up wasn’t ideal to develop resilience, it’s never too late. Being resilient is not a personality trait: it is a dynamic learning process.

A major point in learning resilience is to take a perspective on things. In moments of stress, it might be useful to place your individual situation into a bigger context and grasp on its real severity, or the lack thereof.

For example, one visualization technique that can build resilience is to think of a recent challenge or “crisis” in your personal life. Imagine the place you currently exist and slowly zoom out of yourself. Slowly zoom out of the building you’re in, out of the place, out of the state, country and even continent. Then zoom out further—all the way through the ozone layer—until you reach the moon and you can see the whole earth.

Now think about your problem again: how big is it really? What does it look like from outer space?

It is not simple to “change our thoughts,” but it is often a key first step. Sometimes we need to zoom out, in order to recognize that in the larger scheme of things, maybe we are still okay. Maybe we even learned something from an uncomfortable experience and depended on the support of others.

Sometimes, situations will remain messy and difficult. Zooming out is not a “cure-all.”

But overall, people who are resilient might exhibit a positive attitude that guides them through the obstacle. They shift the label of failure of something negative to something helpful instead. With feedback and motivation, we can each work to get better and “fail forward.”

Getting in touch with other people, helping them, and establishing positivity are important steps in learning resilience. In Harvard’s Positive Psychology 1504 course, professor Tal Ben-Shahar goes in-depth on the subject of resilience in positive psychology.

Our own Hugo Alberts (Ph.D.) presents an exemplary course in Realizing Resilience . This masterclass not only teaches you resilience but will enable you to train others in mastering resilience. The course includes workbooks, exercises, presentations, videos, and much more, and to top it off, you will also earn a certificate of completion once finished with this intense and in-depth course.

All in all, attaining resilience is not simple, but it gets easier with practice. So how do we encourage personal mindsets that influence our daily lives for the better?

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

Having experienced an explosion in personal development, success coaching, and lifestyle engineering, today’s world has never been hungrier for the glory of goal achievement .

Whether these goals stem from desires for fitness, entrepreneurship or some other domain, they all have one thing in common: a road paved with uncertainty, sacrifice, and setbacks. As such, it is key that you learn to foster a sense of resilience within yourself to ensure you overcome these setbacks to aid your rise to greatness.

Fortunately, given the abundance of empirical evidence, the methods for doing so have never been clearer.

Detailed below are a series of tools designed to help you cultivate resilience and in doing so prepare you for the road ahead.

Using your character strengths is a good way to experience your competence.

However, a lot of people don’t know what their strengths are. Something that you are good at comes easily to you, which is why you often take it for granted and don’t recognize it as a major strength.

Learn more about character strengths and take the VIA test  for instance to find your strengths. It can also be helpful to ask people who know you well what they think you are good at. While you are at it, ask yourself as well!

Several strengths are associated with happiness, which in turn is a helpful state of mind to become more resilient. Science shows that consciously embracing moments of daily life and being fully present (mindfulness) leads to increased happiness.

“The good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.”

Martin Seligman

When times are tough, it’s easy to lose hope and optimism. That’s why we need to know our  strengths , especially when life gets tough.

Knowing our strengths helps with greater vitality and motivation , a clearer sense of direction, higher self-confidence, productivity and a higher probability of goal attainment (Clifton & Anderson, 2001-2; Hodges & Clifton, 2004; Peterson & Seligman, 2004).

Many of us are unaware of what your strengths actually are. To find them, you could ask a close friend or family member to observe you closely for a day or two, or just review what they do know about you. When do you seem most engaged and energized? Why? This process can help identify your strengths.

Maybe write them down somewhere, or keep a tiny note in your pocket, to remind you of them.

You might also try to notice what you do uniquely, with this request feedback from other people. Maybe make it an exchange at work or a dinner gathering: have a list of strengths available for reference, and everyone chooses one strength to describe each coworker, friend, etc., at said event.

Strengths serve us well in times of darkness, as well as times of light. It’s time we start knowing our own and valuing them.

‘Mental toughness is the secret to success’ – BBC Ideas

According to the challenge-hindrance stressor framework researched by Cavenaugh et al. (2000), people who view problems with curiosity are more likely to solve the issue and move forward, rather than be defeated by the issue itself.

Why? Because when confronted with a problem, many people view it as an attack on themselves, or as a roadblock that prevents them from a goal.

This victim mentality hinders their progress, and thus weakens their sense of resilience. For example, upon receiving criticism by their boss, a victim may talk back to their boss in anger, deny or excuse the outcome of their work, or even complain about their boss to their colleagues.

Embodying this type of mindset sets people up for failure, which also means additional challenges may, indeed, break a person rather than fuel them forward. Consider this quote:

Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.

Joshua J. Marine

People with a challenge perspective view the problem as an opportunity for growth and as a chance to improve themselves. Unlike a hindrance perspective, a challenge perspective allows people to see their problem as something that has happened “for you” rather than to you.

In some cases, the challenges themselves—especially with hindsight—are actually what provided people with meaning and the passion to persevere. This victor mentality encourages growth, which creates a positive feedback cycle by boosting resilience.

Referring to the above example regarding feedback from a boss, a victor may attempt to understand why the quality of work was not acceptable, request further feedback on how to improve, and maybe even seek advice from colleagues.

In turn, this humility might lead to admiration among staff, and a person who grows into leadership roles since they were willing to adopt a growth-mindset as someone learning along the way.

To summarize, when we acknowledge an obstacle, identify areas for personal improvement, and know our strengths, we position ourselves for meaning and success.

The following quote aptly summarizes why this may be:

“Progress is not inevitable. It’s up to us to create it.”

Michael Bloomberg

For example, in this APA study, when people report their progress publicly or even physically record it, they are more likely to continue towards their goals.

Digital advancements of our century provide us with the ability to share our journeys on a global scale. Caution is needed with this however, since posting our progress makes us apt to compare our goals and achievements with others.

When people compare themselves negatively with others, they are likely to feel discouraged and doubtful. At that point, all it takes is a minor setback to send you plummeting back to square one. If tracking and sharing progress, it is important to resist the natural urge to compare your goals with others. Try to resist this.

Instead, this APA study shows that acknowledging your progress, no matter how small, sends dollops of dopamine to your brain, thus rewarding yourself for your actions. This reinforces further action so when setbacks arise, we are much more likely to move past them.

In a sense, your sense of resilience thrives on progress. So remind yourself of the strides you’ve made, what fuels you forward, and how you’ve embraced challenges along the way.

“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”

George S. Patton Jr.

17 Tools To Build Resilience and Coping Skills

Empower others with the skills to manage and learn from inevitable life challenges using these 17 Resilience & Coping Exercises [PDF] , so you can increase their ability to thrive.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Described by Seligman and addressed in detail in Reivich and Shatté, the ABCDE model allows people to deconstruct a specific “problem” and understand how their “beliefs about what happened” caused them to feel a certain way, not the event itself.

This creates a greater level of awareness about our own reactions, so we can work to have the skillsets needed for a more healthy response to adversity.

The model is composed of 5 steps:

• Consequences;
• Disputation;
• Energization.

These steps help build resilience by recognizing unfavorable thought patterns, finding the true reason behind the emotions, recognizing the negative impact of these emotions, and learning to challenge them.

What if every time we analyzed a problem, we took less fault personally, and instead, adopted a lens that promoted growth and commitment to our goals?

By understanding the problem, our beliefs about the problem, the consequences of those beliefs, and the discrepancy between our believes and the problem itself, we are likely to feel energized and ready to embrace the next challenge more openly.

What are your thoughts after reading this article regarding resilience? Please feel free to leave a comment below. We want to leave you with the following quote:

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”

Dr. Steve Maraboli

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Resilience Exercises for free .

• Baumrind, D. (1971). Current Patterns Of Parental Authority. Developmental Psychology, 4 (1), 1-103.
• Baumrind, D. (2013). Authoritative parenting revisited: History and current status. In R. E. Larzelere, A. S. Morris, A. W. Harrist, R. E. Larzelere, A. S. Morris, A. W. Harrist (Eds.) Authoritative parenting: Synthesizing nurturance and discipline for optimal child development (pp. 11-34). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
• Cavanaugh, M. A., Boswell, W. R., Roehling, M. V., and Boudreau, J. W. (2000). An Empirical examination of self-reported work stress among US managers, Journal of Applied Psychology, 85 , 65-74.
• Clifton, D. O., & Anderson, E. C. (2001). StrengthsQuest. Washington: The Gallup Organisation.
• Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P. I., Prestwich, A., Conner, M., Kellar, I., Benn, Y. & Sheeran, P. (2016). Does Monitoring Goal Progress Promote Goal Attainment? A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142 (2), 198-229.
• Hodges, T. D., & Clifton, D. O. (2004). Strengths-based development in practice. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 256-268). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (Eds.). (2009). The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology . Oxford University Press.
• Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification . Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

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3 Resilience Exercises Pack

Building resilience, promoting wellbeing

Jul 10, 2014

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Building resilience, promoting wellbeing. Mental health. We all have mental health. Mental health relates to how we think, feel, behave and interact with other people. .

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Presentation Transcript

Mental health We all have mental health. Mental health relates to how we think, feel, behave and interact with other people.

Just as we can develop problems with our physical health, mental health problems will be experienced by many of us over the course of our lives. Onein fourpeople will experience a mental health problem each year

Anxietyand depression are the most common problems, with about 1 in 10people affected at any given time. • 1-2 people in every 100 will experience a serious mental health problem such as bipolar disorder, psychosis or schizophrenia in their life.

Not all mental health problems are preventable. But there are some things we can do to look after our mental health, for example, promoting mental wellbeingand building resilience

Wellbeing This presentation focuses on mental rather than physical wellbeing How would you define wellbeing?

The World Health Organisation defines wellbeing as: • ‘a state of mind in which an individual is able to realise his or her own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.’

Wellbeing is made up of two key elements: • Feeling good • Functioning well What kinds of things contribute to your own sense of mental wellbeing?

Resilience Resilience is the ability to cope with life’s challengesand to adapt to adversity. Your levels of resilience can change over the course of your life.

Why are wellbeing and resilience important? Resilience is important because it can help to protect against the development of some mental health problems. Resilience helps us to maintain our wellbeing in difficult circumstances. What type of things make you feel more or less resilient and able to cope?

High levels of wellbeing and resilience in a community don’t just lead to fewer mental health problems… Good levels of wellbeing are associated with: • Improved learning and academic achievement • Reduced absence from work due to sickness • Reductions in risk-taking behaviours like smoking • Improved physical health • Reduced mortality • Increased community involvement

People at higher risk of low wellbeing Some people in our community face significant challenges and may need more support than others to improve their wellbeing, for example people who are: • Socially isolated • From Black or minority ethnic groups • On low incomes or unemployed • Living with a long term health condition How could you support these groups in your community?

Men from households with the lowest 20%of incomes are almost 3 timesmore likely to have a common mental disorderthan those with the top 20% Black and minority ethnic people are nearly 3 timesmore likely to attempt suicide People with less than three close relatives or friendsare more likely to experience mental health problems Rates of depressionare double in those with long term health conditions than in the rest of the population 22% of gay and bisexual men are currently experiencing moderate to severe levels of depression

Improving wellbeing There are a whole range of ways that we can improve our wellbeing and resilience. The New Economics Foundation has set out five thingsthat we can all do to improve our wellbeing….

Connect… With the people around you. With family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. At home, work, school or in your local community. Think of these as the cornerstones of your life and invest time in developing them. Building these connections will support and enrich you every day.

Be active… Go for a walk or run. Step outside. Cycle. Play a game. Garden. Dance. Exercising makes you feel good. Most importantly, discover a physical activity you enjoy and that suits your level of mobility and fitness.

Take notice… Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.

Give… Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Volunteer your time. Join a community group. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.

Keep learning… Try something new. Rediscover an old interest. Sign up for that course. Take on a different responsibility at work. Fix a bike. Learn to play an instrument or how to cook your favourite food. Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving. Learning new things will make you more confident as well as being fun.

What can you do? These are not just things that people should do by themselves. Community groups, services, resources and facilities also play a role in helping people to understand the things they can do for their wellbeing, and supporting people to do them. What services/activities do you provide that promote each of the five ways to wellbeing?

It’s likely that your organisation is already supporting the wellbeing of the people you work with, even if you are not aware of it. But if you would like to do more, here are some ideas of the kind of things you could do to improve wellbeing:

1.Promote the five ways to wellbeing Think about ways you could make the five ways to wellbeing a central part of the services, activities or support you provide. • Could you organise some physical activities, like a sports team or walking club, helping people to be active? • Could you organise creative activitiesthat help people take notice and learn, perhaps art or cooking classes, or run a book group? • Could you facilitate opportunities for people togivetheir time and volunteerin the community

2.Improve opportunities for social connection Can you do more to bring people together in the work that you so, helping them to build more social connections? Could you provide a befriending servicefor the most isolated people in your community? Could you facilitate peer support groupsfor people with similar life experiences to come together?

3.Raise awareness of mental health, wellbeing and resilience Lots of people don’t feel confident talking about mental health and wellbeing or know enough about what they can do to help. Raising awarenessabout mental health can be an important step in making every contact we have with someone in the local community count for wellbeing.

4.Make sure your services are accessible and welcoming Ensure that your services are appropriate to people of all ages, sexual orientations, disabilities, gender, and race

5.Think about the impact your services have on the wellbeing of your community Could you measure the impact your group has on community wellbeing, using a tool like the New Economics Foundations handbook, ‘measuring wellbeing’?

6.Connect with other community organisations Consider ways you could work togetherwith other organisations in the community to improve wellbeing.

7.Provide information about other services in your area Think about pulling together a list of other groups and services in your area that you think might be helpful in supporting the wellbeing of the people you work with.

Recognising mental health problems You may come across people who you think might be experiencing more than just low wellbeing, but may be developing a mental health problem. The first signs of mental health problems will differ from person to person and are not always easy to spot.

Some common early signs of a mental health problem that you may notice in someone include: Increasingly anxious Poor motivation Indifferent Dramatic change of personality Being on edge Irrational Hearing and seeing things that others don’t Self-absorbed Highly emotional Unresponsive Restlessness Poor personal presentation Lack of energy Becoming socially isolated Problems with sleep Lack of interest in activities that were previously enjoyed Hyperactivity Making statements of self-worthlessness Distracted Poor concentration Extreme mood swings

Helping people get the right support If you think someone is experiencing a mental health problem and needs help, there are a range of people and organisations that offer advice, support and treatment: • GPscan be the first point of contact for many people – they can offer treatment and advice and can make referrals for more support. • If someone is experiencing severe mental distressthey can make an emergency appointment with their GP, or go to the local A&Edepartment. If you are worried that someone is at immediate risk of harming themselves or others you should call 999.

Helplines and websites There are lots of national telephone helplinesand websites that can be contacted for support, with many available 24/7. The booklet that accompanies this presentation contains the contact details for many of these.

How to change things in your area If you feel strongly that more needs to be done to support the wellbeing of people in your community there are local decision-makers and organisations that you can contact: • Your local MP • Your local councillor • Healthwatch

For more information, the accompanying booklet and full reportplease seewww.mind.org.uk/publicmentalhealth We’re Mind, the mental health charity. We believe no one should have to face a mental health problem alone. We’re here for you. Today. Now. Whether you’re stressed, depressed or in crisis. We’ll listen, give support and advice, and fight your corner. Registered Charity No. 219830 Registered No. 424348 England The Mental Health Foundation is a UK-wide charity that carries out research, campaigns for better mental health services, and works to raise awareness of all mental health issues to help us all lead mentally healthier lives. Registered Charity Nos: (England & Wales) 801130: (Scotland) SC 039714.

This presentation is one of a series of resources produced on behalf of the Mental Health Strategic Partnership with funding from the Department of Health. The Mental Health Strategic Partnership comprises:

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Building Business & Mental Resilience Join us for this dynamic 5-part workshop series designed to offer practical tools and expert guidance to help you thrive in every aspect of your entrepreneurial journey! Speaker Kurt Faustin will deliver the following workshops at the Ed Portal. Register today!   This is a 5-part workshop series with separate registrations . Participants who attend all sessions will have the chance to enter the pitch competition in January.

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A board-level view of cyber resilience

Amid growing corporate and public sector cyber breaches and recent high-profile technology outages, significant changes are occurring in both the role of boards in cybersecurity and within the cybersecurity industry itself. In this interview, McKinsey’s Sean Brown speaks with Vinnie Liu, the cofounder and CEO of the cybersecurity firm Bishop Fox, and McKinsey cyber-resilience experts Justin Greis and Daniel Wallance about how boards of directors should approach oversight of cybersecurity. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

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Sean Brown: Boards’ responsibilities are changing quickly in the face of emerging cybersecurity threats. Justin, tell us about your research on this subject.

Justin Greis: We set out to look at cybersecurity from two perspectives—that of the board and the cybersecurity community—to learn what they see as the core of the cybersecurity issues they face and how boards can arm themselves better.

As companies transform and modernize with more connected technologies, they increase their attack surface, which are the opportunities attackers can use to get into the company. Last year alone there was a 75 percent increase in intrusions into cloud-hosted environments, and that number is increasing, especially as companies move to the cloud more.

Vinnie Liu: When we observe how attackers work, oftentimes we see new technologies involved. They take advantage of these moments of technological change, such as migration to cloud storage, or the adoption of connected sensors within factories, or the adoption of gen AI. These are moments of opportunity from an attacker’s perspective. So when we think about the attack surface, it is not only what technologies you have but also what is changing in your company that we focus on.

Sean Brown: What are some of the biggest challenges that boards and their management teams face in the cybersecurity realm?

When we think about the attack surface, it is not only what technologies you have but also what is changing in your company that we focus on. Vinnie Liu, co-founder and CEO, Bishop Fox

Justin Greis: A series of factors makes this topic complex for boards and management teams to digest. One is that the regulatory landscape is changing every day, with more and more countries (and industries) adopting new requirements around disclosure and privacy. There is also an increase in risk exposure as companies use more connected technologies. Also, it is extremely easy to launch cyberattacks. There is now a concept of ransomware as a service—it takes a few dollars and some effort, but it is relatively easy to launch these days.

Sean Brown: Take us through the board’s specific responsibilities around cybersecurity and resilience. How are they evolving?

Justin Greis: One of the biggest things we talk about is making cybersecurity a competitive differentiator. This is a good question for all boards to ask as they assess their cybersecurity. How do they treat cyber? Is it a back-office function? Is it something viewed as a foundation of trust? If it is the latter, there is corresponding investment that goes along with that.

Another is the regulatory changes. For example, there are at least two in the US that are exceptionally important. One is CIRCIA: the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act, 1 “Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022,” CISA.gov, accessed August 2024.   and another is the SEC cyber-disclosure rule. 2 “SEC adopts rules on cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident disclosure by public companies,” US Securities and Exchange Commission press release, July 26, 2023.   These have upended boards’ obligations relative to their knowledge of cybersecurity. Organizations need to be more conversant in cybersecurity in terms of their expertise, training, and the designation of a cybersecurity expert on the board. It has to be somebody who asks good questions—and follow-up questions—and understands the preparation required and the investor scrutiny involved.

If you are a board member and you are seeing these regulations increase, and you are not getting sufficient answers to these questions, you have to keep asking until you understand the answers that you are getting.

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Sean Brown: For those on the boards of global companies, how should they approach the cyber-regulatory landscape?

Justin Greis: First, you have to know the jurisdictions and the environments in which you are operating. You need to conduct a scan of the relevant regulations and laws that apply. The problem right now is that the disclosure requirements released by various governments have different timeframes for disclosure, what you need to disclose, to whom you need to disclose it, and the actions that you need to take as a result. There is a movement to try to harmonize regulations, but that is being done country by country. Globally, the requirements are still going to vary widely for the foreseeable future. Once you know what those requirements are, you need to get them into your response plans.

Sean Brown: Do you find that companies are prepared to meet those requirements and to rigorously defend against potential cyberattacks?

Justin Greis: Companies are struggling to invest in cybersecurity at pace with the changing threats and the rising threats. In our study of 114 companies, only 10 percent of them were what we call leading organizations starting to be able to protect themselves against advanced threats. The remaining 90 percent were below a level-three maturity, on a scale of zero to four.

That means most companies are not building capabilities that allow them to protect themselves. There are a number of reasons for that. Underfunding, a lack of strategy, a lack of a business-backed risk-based approach. In other words, the threats are moving faster than we can protect ourselves.

Sean Brown: What about state-sponsored attacks? It is hard for any one company to marshal enough resources to defend against such threats. Are companies and countries taking any collaborative approaches to this aspect of cybersecurity?

Justin Greis: There are public–private partnerships that are growing increasingly strong, and it is making a difference. Also, individual countries are developing national cybersecurity strategies to protect their virtual and digital borders. In the future, we are going to see stronger protections to protect against these nation-state attacks. For the short term, though, while a collaborative industry, everyone is still in the fight relatively alone, so companies have to protect themselves. Even when we have stronger state strategies and public–private partnerships, you will still have to lock your doors, so to speak. You still have to have good hygiene, protect the borders of your company, and do the things to keep you safe at night.

Vinnie Liu: One of the things to keep an eye on is the level of investment that governments are putting into areas such as sovereign-threat intelligence, and what they are doing to invest in their private sector organizations to defend them against attacks. It is not enough just to protect their own government networks. Public–private partnerships have become considerably better in the last few years. It is easier to collaborate before an incident, and oftentimes very difficult to collaborate during or right after one. You want to get ahead of attacks before they happen, and sharing intelligence is one way to do that.

Justin Greis: Another piece of the complexity here is that each organization takes a different approach to protecting itself. If you are a cybersecurity leader, you are probably thinking, “Well, I don’t manage physical security, and I don’t manage data privacy and protection. And somebody else handles backups.” And that is the point. From a board standpoint, your obligation is to understand how well your organization handles cybersecurity and how you define your program irrespective of who has responsibilities for the individual capabilities. It may not be well understood who is doing what, even within the IT organization.

From a board standpoint, your obligation is to understand [your organization’s cybersecurity capabilities] and how you define your program. . . . It may not be well understood who is doing what, even within the IT organization. Justin Greis

Sean Brown: Justin, what patterns are you seeing in the maturity levels of companies?

Justin Greis: We characterize cybersecurity maturity as two levels—foundational and advanced. In the beginning, 20 or 30 years ago, we saw many organizations that did not care. It just wasn’t an issue for them. We do not see that as much these days. Today we challenge companies to develop a risk-based, business-backed view of cybersecurity. This means you prioritize and protect the things that matter most to your organization. Financial-services companies may be protecting financial and customer data, for example. Manufacturing organizations may prioritize availability of the manufacturing line. You have to understand first what the business is and then how to protect those business processes involved.

The next level of maturity is proactive security, where the cybersecurity function leads the way and can point out issues to the business and help the company move faster. This includes thinking in terms of security by design, where you embed security into the products’ and systems’ development processes so that security helps things go faster rather than slow things down.

Sean Brown: Vinnie, what should boards understand about their organizations’ risk profile?

Vinnie Liu: Once we know where our assets are, we need to ask about the initial risk profile and what potential exploitation exists for these assets. This is an evolution and something you can take back to your organization and query your CISO [chief information security officer] about. Boards need to understand what their organizations are doing to get ahead of vulnerabilities before they are discovered and exploited by attackers.

And then we need to ask what we are doing to prepare to respond to or defend against attacks. Whether it is a tabletop exercise or an actual technical test—such as a red-team or penetration test to see our defensive behavior in action—what are the processes and human behaviors that will be involved in the response to an attack?

Attackers today are getting more creative. They are not always taking advantage of zero-day vulnerabilities, or vulnerabilities that have just been released or, rather, where a patch from the software vendor does not yet exist. More and more they are going into the back catalog of vulnerabilities and finding novel ways of taking advantage of them. They go after organizations that do not have consistent vulnerability management.

Sean Brown: What is the difference between the roles of the executive management team and the board?

Daniel Wallance: The responsibilities are separate, but we view them as a partnership. The executive team manages and runs cybersecurity in the organization, overseeing the people who deal with and mitigate risks daily. And they communicate the risks and status of threats and mitigating actions to the board and leadership.

And it is the board that needs to understand and ask questions about the maturity of the cybersecurity program, what risks are introduced, whether risk levels are within risk tolerance, and whether the risk tolerance levels are acceptable. Boards should not just ask questions. We also see boards actively engaging, for example, in tabletop exercises, in cyber simulations to obtain an inside view of how the company’s cybersecurity program is operating and what it means to defend and protect the organization.

Sean Brown: Justin, you have been studying boards’ changing responsibilities around cybersecurity. What are the questions boards should ask?

Justin Greis: Board members as well as cybersecurity leaders and business leaders should ask: Can we clearly articulate what our risk tolerance is for cyber events? Do we have zero tolerance for downtime and disruption? Do we have limited or low tolerance for breaches that impact fewer than, for example, two hundred customers?

It is hard to decide how much you are willing to tolerate, but it is a really important exercise because the difference in cost, strategy, and focus between no tolerance and some tolerance or risk-adjusted tolerance is dramatic.

Boards will need to review their organizations’ current and historical cyber-risk portfolio or register and confirm that decisions align to risk appetite. In a typical cyber-risk register, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of risks, and as many decisions that get made. For those risks that rise to the top, the questions to ask are, do boards know about them? How have these situations been decided, and are they in line with the risk appetite agreed to? Are cybersecurity leadership decisions in line with how the board would make decisions? Is the board comfortable with this?

Sean Brown: Talk more about resources and strategies boards should discuss with management.

Justin Greis: The first question we typically recommend asking is, what is our cybersecurity strategy, and do we have the appropriate resources to support it to decrease risk most effectively and efficiently? Often, we see that the CISO has been saying for years what is needed but the larger organization has not been able to understand what is being asked. Board members can help by assuming that their organization does not have the right allocation of resources and asking how they can help. They need to understand where additional cybersecurity budget should be spent if it were allocated.

Also, cybersecurity strategy is different from a cybersecurity operating model. And the capabilities that make up a cybersecurity organization vary from company to company. Boards need to understand “the what” (what needs to be done), “the how” (how to do so), “the who” (who needs to do the work), and the capabilities required to carry out the strategy.

Sean Brown: Do companies typically have to rebalance their technology investment to cover the resources needed for cybersecurity?

Justin Greis: In my experience working with companies on cost optimization and budget rebalancing, when they ask whether they can reduce their cybersecurity spend, the answer is almost always a “no,” from a risk standpoint. When we dig in, we usually find the cybersecurity function had been underresourced for years, which resulted in the need for increased spend to achieve sufficient risk reduction. Organizations should ask whether they are deploying resources in the most efficient and effective manner to decrease risk.

Sean Brown: What should boards be asking about third-party and fourth-party risks?

Justin Greis: Boards need to ask whether their organization tracks risks associated with vendors and third parties they use. We recently completed a study with the Institute of International Finance in which we asked top financial organizations’ cybersecurity leaders where their organizations need improvement. By far, third-party cybersecurity risk or supply chain security management was the top capability that came up as needing improvement. We have seen a number of attacks involving critical third-party and fourth-party service providers that represent ecosystem risk to entire industries.

Whether your industry is healthcare or technology or financial services, understanding your third-party and fourth-party ecosystem and who drives those critical business processes, and what would happen if those vendors were to go down through a cyberattack or a natural disaster, is important.

Understanding your third-party and fourth-party ecosystem and who drives those critical business processes, and what would happen if those vendors were to go down through a cyberattack or a natural disaster, is very important. Justin Greis

Sean Brown: Does an organization need to prioritize identifying its assets to secure?

Vinnie Liu: This is a challenging problem because knowing where your assets are seems really straightforward, but it is a struggle we have seen for more than a decade within organizations. Board members would do well to refer to the Center for Internet Security’s 18 Critical Security Controls , which offer a very straightforward way to understand the important controls to look for in an organization. This starts by asking the critical questions of: Where are my hardware assets? Where are my software assets? And where are my assets in general in an organization? It is critical to understand how to manage the security of the data elements. This is especially important today, as businesses become more digital in nature.

And then, you need to know not just where your IT assets are but where your operational assets or digitized factory assets are too. Those have become part of the expanded attack surface that Justin referred to. In more mature organizations, this is often someone’s full-time job or part of a team whose job is to maintain an inventory of technology assets. And it is not enough to know what and where your assets are; you also need to be able to operationalize that data.

Sean Brown: Once you know those assets, how do you prioritize which ones to protect?

Vinnie Liu: I would suggest some thought exercises that can help your organization think this through. There is a concept that attackers go after vulnerabilities you have not identified, so you want to work to identify those weaknesses you are not yet aware of. This is why you want to know what your attack surface looks like.

Doing the opposite and looking at what you already know you want to protect is another type of valuable thought exercise. We often recommend that people look at their business continuity or disaster recovery plans, because you have already prioritized your most important assets there, and you can focus on securing them.

But here is the paradox—the assets that are the most important are often the ones that are the most connected to and critical in your operating model. They have the most paths in and out, which is where attackers will gain entry. Or they will find a less important entry point that is less hardened and wind their way through the network to get through a trusted relationship to that critical asset.

When you think about your assets, you have to think about them and how you balance risk holistically. How you model your environment becomes critical. You have to find the paths that attackers will most likely take through your organization and layer these questions on top of one another to get to the point of answering the question, what do I need to do to protect it?

Sean Brown: Daniel, what expectations should boards have around cyber metrics and measurement?

Daniel Wallance: When we engage in the conversation around risk and capability maturity, the question becomes, what are the metrics we should be evaluating? The first point here is around risk, so the question to ask is about those assets that we just identified: What is the potential risk impact to those assets? For example, in the last 60 days, were there attempts to exfiltrate sensitive data such as customer repositories from the organization?

The second point is about maturity, and the questions to ask include: What is the state of our data protection controls? What is the state of our access management capabilities? What is the organization doing to enhance cybersecurity maturity to further decrease risk? And what is the progress toward improving and advancing our cybersecurity program?

Sean Brown: Adding to that, what types of metrics should companies and their boards watch to discern whether they are prepared?

Justin Greis: The problem with benchmarks is they have two fundamental flaws. First, the historical approach to cyber-resilience benchmarking is to think of cybersecurity spend in terms of percentage of IT budget. The problem with this is if you design your program to historical benchmarks, you are benchmarking to where programs were before, not where they are going given the threat landscape and the evolving cybersecurity capabilities. The second problem is that every organization is different, so trying to benchmark against others is comparing apples to oranges.

We suggest using benchmarks as one type of input that informs your strategy, rather than basing your strategy on benchmarks. Rather, design your strategy based on risk—use a bottom-up view of the capabilities you need to mitigate the risks you face.

Vinnie Liu: I cannot emphasize that point enough—every organization is different. I will give you an example: years ago, we were working with a very large and highly successful software company. But nobody could benchmark against them because of the investment they were making in cybersecurity. The moment we really understood that was when we learned that they had a person with the title “senior security ecosystem strategist.” No other organization would have such a specific role.

The lesson here is that, as you are looking at your organization, be thoughtful about the differences between what you have heard or read in the news and the needs and capabilities of your specific company.

Sean Brown: Daniel, what should boards ask about incident management, so they understand how well their organizations have prepared to address an actual attack?

Daniel Wallance: The board should act as a challenge on the preparation and the ability of the organization to respond to cyberincidents, asking questions such as: Have we actually rehearsed these incident response plans? Are there incident retainers in place? Is there outside counsel available and noted to be called should a cyberattack happen? Will it be clear in the event of an incident who the incident commander will be in the organization? (You do not want the CEO leading the day-to-day incident response.) Would a nerve center be able to be stood up, and will it be clear who is participating? If we had to truly recover and rebuild our systems from backup or rebuild from scratch, would we be able to? We did a survey recently that found that only a minority of organizations are planning for such a recovery.

Also, we need to go beyond questionnaires and paper-based assessments and conduct hands-on keyboard exercises to know how effective the cybersecurity controls are. The board should understand whether systems will actually detect malware or block data from being exfiltrated. The board should seek to learn how effective the organization’s cybersecurity capabilities would be in the event of a cybersecurity incident.

Vinnie Liu is cofounder and CEO of Bishop Fox. Justin Greis is a partner in McKinsey’ s Chicago office, where Daniel Wallance is a senior expert. Sean Brown is global director of communications for the Strategy & Corporate Finance practice and is based in Boston.

Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement.

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From the american heritage® dictionary of the english language, 5th edition..

• A city of south-central Russia on the Irtysh River. On the Trans-Siberian Railroad, it is a major river port and transportation hub. The city was founded in 1716.

from Wiktionary , Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• proper noun Seventh largest city in Russia , centre of Omsk oblast .

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a city in the Asian part of Russia

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Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Omsk .

The Czech-born Jagr, 36, a right wing who has topped rosters for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals, and the New York Rangers since 1990, is now playing for Avangard Omsk , of the new Continental Hockey League, in Omsk, Siberia.

Jagr, wearing number 68 to commemorate the Prague Spring, waits to play in Omsk . Image credit: Utkin Igor/Itar-Tass Photo/Corbis

Watch them smile to themselves as they refute objections and expound implications of Stalin's monetary policy on rural electrification in Omsk . If there are two of them in the car, you just might do a Gemini and climb out the window to pull off a carjacking.

Archive 2007-11-01 2007

Astrology and Traffic Tie-ups 2007

Ultimately, he said it was a matter of stability, that he wanted a three-year contract and a place to call home, even if that means going to an outpost like Omsk , which is far more a part of Siberia than continental Europe.

Archive 2008-07-01 James Mirtle 2008

Nine-time NHL All-Star Jaromir Jagr shocked the hockey world in 2008 when he joined Avangard Omsk at age 36, before rejoining the NHL this summer.

Hockey Stars Killed in Russian Crash Gregory L. White 2011

The firebrand championing the indigenous Komi people was none other than Yury Spiridonov, an ethnically Russian oil miner and party worker, born in Omsk and educated in Sverdlovsk, who had once gotten into trouble for snapping at someone who tried to address him in Komi: “Speak in a way that can be understood.”

The Return Daniel Treisman 2011

Before returning to the NHL this season with the Philadelphia Flyers, Jagr had played three years for Avangard Omsk , a franchise in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.

Why Didn't New York Keep Jagr? Mike Sielski 2011

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• By Alexei Malgavko

Name:  Alexei Malgavko

Age:  30

Profession: Photographer

City:  Omsk Oblast

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you?  I have had photography as a hobby since I was a child, and since 2005 I have worked as a photo journalist. I have to do all sorts of photography, but I am most interested in shooting provincial Russia.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for? Omsk oblast is located in Siberia, at the geographic center of Russia. Omsk is a huge city with a population of over a million, but all you ahve to do is drive 50 kilometers and the population density falls of rapidly. The main income source for the megalopolis is the oil processing plan. Since the taiga is nearby, the wood processing industry is also rather big here. Siberia is also known for its severe cold (to minus 40 degrees) and it summer mosquitoes.

What is something about your city that only locals would know? 200 years ago, the [now] world famous writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was sent to Siberian exile in Omsk. Another of Omsk's "calling cards" is the city's hockey team, Avangard. In 2006 the legendary Yaromir Yagr even played for them. Omsk is also famous for its metro, which does not actaully exists. There are stations, even a metro bridge, but no metro cars travel there, because for 20 years now they have been unable to finish the system, though they promise to every year.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city?  The five lakes and village of Okunevo, the place where, according to legend, lies the "world's navel." Each year on the summer solstices (June 21), representatives of various religions come her to collect its energy. And less religious people come here simply to rest and luxuriate in virginal nature.

There is also Belovodye, a grandiose ice village that is built before New Year's directly in the center of Omsk.

The main sport in Omsk is ice hockey. The former governor of Omsk, region who held office for twenty years, was a devoted fan of Hockey Club Avangard Omsk Region. The team won the Russian Superleague in 2004. Many hockey players who were raised in Omsk play all over the world now. And youngsters play right in the streets, despite the frost.

Photo credit: Alexei Malgavko

Taxi Driver

In Omsk there are many steam-heat and fabric pipes. The city is big and it needs proper heating. The most powerful ones belong to the Oil Plant. A long time ago, the son of famous Russian poet Lev Gumilyov took part in building this plant while serving his exile here. He was born in St. Petersburg. By coincidence, the bulk of the plant's taxes go to the Northern capital of Russia, because the Oil plant is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft. Money flows away from Omsk while it suffers from the plant's pollution. That's why all the citizens think it's unfair.

Tags: Siberia Omsk winter

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