Review by laseniola -- The Smartest Person in the Room

[laseniola]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Smartest Person in the Room" by Christian Espinosa.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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In today’s world where vital information such as credit card detail, medical record, login information etc. is easily stolen, there is an urgent need to clamp down on cyber criminals in order to safeguard people’s lives. In this book, The Smartest Person in the Room, Christian Espinosa succinctly describes from the technical perspective how and why the need to be the “smartest person in the room” is the sole reason for the losing war against cybercrimes.

Christian Espinosa is a technical expert with decades of experience in cybersecurity. It is no surprise that he brilliantly used an amalgam of his wealth of experience in this field and the experiences on his journey to self improvement to tell us practical methods to effectively keep cyber criminals out of business. He named this method the “Secure Methodology”, it consists of seven steps including communication, empathy, monotasking, mindset, and kaizen. Christian believes that if technical people in cybersecurity adhere to the principles of the secure methodology they will become better versions of themselves, and will possess the human and technical intelligence required to proffer effective solutions to cybersecurity issues.

I must say that I agree with Christian’s logic on the influence of mindset on communication, that closed minded people want to be the smartest in the room and will not entertain any idea other than theirs. I liked his outline on the seven levels of deep exercise to understand the motivation of technical teams and spur their growth. These principles can be applied by non-technical people too, making this book unique in a pleasant way. As I read each page, I found myself doing most of the activities described in the book, the activity named “Block Time” that helps in time management and focus was particularly excellent.

I did not like the frequent reference made to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) presuppositions, and how they were itemized repeatedly throughout this book. I find it banal and quite off putting, but despite the superfluousness of the NLP presupposition, the author used examples based on true stories as illustration, for example, he described how being raised by a drug-addicted mother made him fear uncertainty and crave significance as an adult so he became a dogmatic person even when his technical views were obviously parochial. The illustration of how he won a triathlon on the first trial against his competitive friend was inspirational. Readers will find these examples highly relatable, especially the one about Doug- the bully, job hopper and volatile leader.

I am giving this book 3 out of 4 stars because it is detailed and practical. Despite the handful of errors I observed while I read through it, I liked that Christian shared something real with the world, not from his imaginations but from his experience, the things that worked for him and made him a better version of himself, likewise those things that did not work. This made me appreciate this book even more, so I recommend it for people who have careers in cybersecurity, as well as in any other fields, both technical and non-technical . It is a very good read.

Enjoy!

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The Smartest Person in the Room
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[Naaya123]

I've had my eye on this novel for a while now. Reading your review has definitely motivated me a bit more to finally give it a shot. Lovely review!

[chinaappleamui]

Thanks for the review! I was always interested in how to ensure my security on the web. So much information is out there these days! Will definitely take a look at this book.

[unamilagra]

It sounds like the author has some unique and practical ideas to combat a very real and serious problem. Thanks for your thorough review!

[John Owen]

Wait, is this a novel or a non-fiction book? I love books about technology and I am currently learning a couple of programming languages, so this book will appeal to me, non-fiction or not. Great review!

[markodim721]

I like the author's systematicity as well as the fact that he included the social sciences and humanities in his methodology.

[Nicholus Schroeder]

I might just read this one, have the feeling I'll enjoy it. Great review, very informative!

[Kavita Shah]

I want to be the smartest person in the room. The title has a charm to itself. I wasn't expecting it to be a technical book. The 7 steps would be really great to learn about. Thank you for a great review!

[Mtibza eM]

This book discusses a very important topic. Everything nowadays is done online and people are vulnerable to cybercriminals, so I think the author will help to raise awareness and more. Thank you for sharing.

[PeterRabitt20]

Your review gave this book such a spotlight. The topic pertains so much to what's going on today. Is the author giving away the code? Great job!