Page 6 - the SyI Quarterly 8
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Know your Institute
Know your Institute
Chief Executive’s Piece
Rick Mounfield CSyP FSyI
I have become fixated with Purple cows!
Godin says “ A remarkable product or service is like
a purple cow. Brown cows are boring; purple ones
are worth mentioning. Those ideas spread; those
organisations grow” (Tribes, 2008).
As we emerge from 16 months of lockdown, we
are different. The Security Institute is different. The
pandemic swelled our numbers. Not just a record year
for membership growth but a record year for influential
growth. From May 2020 – March 2021, our LinkedIn page
grew by an AVERAGE of 2,000 new followers a month!
We now have 57,000 followers who want to hear what
we have to say. Its slowed down since April….we are only
getting 1000 new followers a month! I believe this growth
is due to the altruistic endeavours of our members and
corporate partners.
The Security Institute is delivering purple cows. Our
interactions, webinars and engagements are not run
of the mill. They are delivered with passion, by security
professionals who are passionate and want to enhance
their sector through influence. We have enjoyed speakers
from the government security profession, corporate
security and individual specialists in so many niche areas
of security, that I think I have personally learned more,
and grown professionally over the past year. I know many
other have too.
We were delivering 2 webinars a week in the height of
the pandemic, which helped many security professionals
complete their CPD from the safety of their own home.
In fact, more security professionals than ever before
completed their CPD in 2020.
Alongside our educational webinars, our online
networking sessions proved to be a big success. Our
regular networking sessions on the REMO platform
allowed members to network easily and authentically
from home, with many taking the opportunity to share
their experiences and knowledge with the wider Institute
community. In addition to the our Community Platform,
which it is hard to believe only launched in June 2020,
these online networking sessions allowed members
across the UK and further afield to connect during a
period of extended isolation.
These new innovative additions to our offering have truly
been purple cows for the sector, attracting new members
and benefiting existing members. It has meant that more
members can easily engage with our growing number
of special interest groups, which is benefiting the wider
sector. Look no further than the recent work of our
Counter Terrorism SIG and Inclusive Security SIG.
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