Learn from MISTAKES with AI | Tech Transformation | Innovation | Cloud | DevSecOps

Are you struggling to demonstrate the business value of technology?

With over 25 years of experience driving innovation and architecting complex systems, I've seen fantastic technology fail because it did not adequately address the user needs of the people it was built to serve.

I specialize in creating clarity amidst complexity - bridging the gap between technology capabilities and business priorities. My superpower is quickly grasping the heart of ambiguous problems and rallying teams to deliver solutions that create measurable value.

If you are a technology or business leader tired of:

❌ Chasing the latest hype while struggling to justify budgets

❌ Translating technobabble for skeptical executives

❌ Watching projects derailed by misaligned priorities

I can help you cut through the noise to build innovation strategies and technology roadmaps that move the needle for your organization and fully leverage AI and automation.

My approach combines systems thinking, design practices, and technical fluency to:

🎯 Uncover the root causes of business problems

🎯 Rapidly validate solution ideas

🎯 Deliver technology that users love

🎯 Continually optimize to drive outcomes

I've applied this formula to industry leaders like PepsiCo and helped clients build and integrate critical IoT, cloud, data, DevOps, and AI capabilities. 

Let's connect for a discovery call to explore if my expertise can help unlock value in your technology investments.

Daniel Lemire

83% of AI projects today focus purely on software, leaving a massive gap in the physical world that's about to change dramatically.

What if I told you we've been looking at AI through too narrow a lens?

This year at CES, NVIDIA's Jensen Huang highlighted something I've been thinking about for months:

2026 will be the year physical AI breaks through. 

But here's where most people are making MISTAKES in understanding this shift:

They're thinking robots. 
They're thinking manufacturing.

This isn't wrong, but that's missing the bigger picture.

Physical AI isn't just about machines that move.

It's really about AI that interacts with our physical world in ways we haven't imagined yet:

1. Smart materials that adapt to environmental conditions
2. Infrastructure that self-repairs
3. Buildings that optimize their own energy use in real-time

Transportation, Logistics, Energy, Construction, Service, and many undiscovered opportunities we all get to find!

Think of it like teaching a child. First, they learn to observe (current AI). Then they learn to speak (language models). But the real magic happens when they learn to interact with their environment (world models). 

[ Yes, I think Yann Lecun is right about the future of world models before we can acheive AGI. (but I also don't think that will be the last step)]

That's where we are with AI right now. We are on the cusp of a third breakthrough, we just don't know how quickly the breakthrough will come.

The most fascinating part? The MISTAKES we've made in software AI will actually accelerate the development of physical AI. We've learned a great deal about what works and what doesn't, and those lessons are invaluable.

I'm working on the latest newsletter addition, where I'll go into detail on the ways I will be exploring physical AI in 2026 with AI MISTAKES.

If you haven't taken action on this, don't wait. Get subscribed, and we can Learn from MISTAKES with AI in 2026.

📰 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻-𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
📺 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 
👉 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀!

ServiceNow AI Consultant | AI MISTAKES | Transformation | DevOps

This is a thought provoking exchange.

We don't talk about today's 'digital labor', but that is a real thing.

Today, you don't need a lift operator to ride in an elevator. The machine handles that labor, but no one talks about those changes because almost no one can remember the time when an elevator required an operator to function. 

I keep going back to the idea that we are repeating the shift that happened at the beginning of the PC era when people began having access to computers.

Today, much of the digital revolution is founded upon the ways that we 'played' with PCs. 

I remember when I was a kid, getting the PC game to work was how I learned to (at first break, and then fix) configure, upgrade and manage computers.

I'm not certain about the age of abundance (we still have to build datacenters), but I do think that if we use the power of our imagination in the right way, we can bring positive change through the use of these great new tools.

What’s the real blocker to AI success? 

It’s no longer about access, now that everyone has the tools. Today’s barrier is imagination. In the age of resource abundance, we need to think bigger.  

So what’s holding teams back from turning AI ambition into action? 

Nick Tzitzon joined global leaders on this AI Skills Panel to unpack how Australia can move from scarcity to abundance and why skills, culture, and mindset will make this shift possible.  

#PutAIToWorkForPeople

Magic happens when brilliant people work together to make an even bigger impact.

I cannot pretend to speak words more succinctly than a highly successful CEO, but I CAN share those words.

Jeffrey shared some treasure today, and he even added a bit of elegant reframing.

I believe this restatement by Jeffrey is what we are all charged with, even if your role does not include responsibility for leading or managing teams.

"Your job is to provide the clarity, culture, and energy that allows a team to move."

This is probably the most valuable blog post I will read all week. 

Thanks for sharing this, Jeffrey Snover.

Open article: Welcome to the Room by jsnover.com

Early Leadership & Career Pivot Strategist | Helping Non-Tech Professionals Lead in Tech | CEO @ Lateral Connect | Digital Transformation Advisor | Non-Executive Director

Most career advice still assumes a straight corporate ladder.
The reality? Careers today grow sideways before they grow upwards.

You don’t need another certificate or years of waiting for permission.

You need:

▪️A lateral career strategy that turns your 
     past experience into an advantage
▪️Mentorship that accelerates growth 
     instead of delaying it
▪️Leadership habits that scale as your 
     responsibility grows

I help ambitious professionals pivot with confidence - moving from non-tech backgrounds into cybersecurity, digital, and early leadership roles.

As CEO of Lateral Connect, I lead mentorship-driven programmes that combine: 

1️⃣ Structured career transition roadmaps for non-technical professionals
2️⃣ Early leadership coaching for first-time and aspiring leaders
3️⃣ Practical, employer-aligned upskilling that 
      leads to real outcomes in cyber and 
      digital roles

I’ve supported professionals to move:

▪️From HR into risk and governance
▪️From project management into cyber 
     leadership
▪️From marketing into digital and 
     transformation consulting

This isn’t about chasing titles.

It’s about building a career platform that creates options, credibility, and leadership opportunities.

📩 If you’re ready to pivot with clarity and confidence, DM me or explore Lateral Connect to get started.

Victoria Coker

If your workplace shrinks your confidence,

the problem isn’t your potential, it’s the environment.

I learned this the hard way.

Early in my cybersecurity journey, I was in a room where questions felt risky.
Every time I asked why, I worried it sounded like I didn’t belong.
When I shared ideas, they were brushed aside, until someone more senior repeated them later.
And slowly, without realising it, I stopped raising my hand.

Not because I wasn’t capable.
But because the culture taught me that curiosity looked like incompetence and ambition looked like disruption.

And I see this pattern constantly now, especially in cybersecurity and early leadership:

❌ Curiosity gets mistaken for weakness
❌ Growth mindset is labelled as “not ready yet”
❌ Speaking up feels like threatening the status quo
❌ Potential gets measured by confidence, not capability

So talented, driven people start doubting themselves…
when in reality, they’re just in the wrong room.

Because I’ve also seen the opposite.

In the right environment:
→ Your transferable skills are recognised, not dismissed
→ Your voice matters, even when you’re new
→ Learning out loud is encouraged, not judged
→ Growth is supported, not quietly resented

That’s when confidence expands.
That’s when people step into leadership without forcing it.
That’s when cybersecurity professionals thrive, not just survive.

You’re not “too junior.”
You’re not “not technical enough.”
You’re not behind.

The culture is.

In every career, especially in cyber, you really have two options:
Change the culture.
Or change the room.

Choose the one that protects your confidence and expands your future.
Because you deserve to grow, lead, and belong, not shrink to fit.

💬 Who has made you feel more capable, not less?
Tag them. They deserve to be seen.

♻️ Repost to remind someone their growth should never be negotiable
➕ Follow Victoria Coker for Cyber Career Transition & Authentic Early 
      Leadership
#AskVictoria Coker

Non-Tech→Cyber in 5 Months | Cyber Career Coach & Mentor | Founder, Lateral Connect (NCSC-Assured, UKRLP) | Trusted by Skanska, Honeywell, Bupa & Virgin Money

Mistakes taught me faster.

Success only confirmed direction.

Early in my career, I thought success was the proof of competence.
I was wrong.

My biggest growth came from mistakes, the uncomfortable ones.
The projects that didn’t land.
The conversations I handled poorly.
The moments I doubled down instead of listening.

In cybersecurity and leadership, mistakes aren’t optional.
They’re inevitable.

What matters is what you 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵.

I learned that:
 – Success shows what worked once
 – Mistakes reveal patterns, blind spots, and assumptions
 – Reflection is more valuable than perfection

The leaders who grow fastest aren’t flawless.
They’re honest.

They review decisions without shame.
They adjust without defensiveness.
They move forward without dragging the lesson into every room.

That mindset is what I now teach leaders and career changers:
Learn fast.
Correct early.
Don’t romanticise struggle, extract value from it.

Because confidence isn’t built from never failing.
It’s built from recovering well.

♻️ Repost if someone needs this reminder today
➕ Follow Victoria Coker for authentic leadership & career growth
#AskVictoria Coker

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐨?

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:
People think “Cybersecurity Analyst” is a single, clearly defined role.
It isn’t.

The same role can appear under many titles:
Security Operations Analyst, SOC Analyst, Cyber Defense Analyst, Incident Response Analyst, IT Security Analyst, Threat Monitoring Analyst.
Different names.

Often the same core responsibility.

➡️ 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐛?
A cybersecurity analyst is a first-line defender.
You monitor systems and networks for unusual behaviour.
You investigate alerts to determine what’s real and what’s noise.
You assess impact, identify root causes, and support remediation.
You document everything clearly so others can act fast.
This isn’t glamorous work.
It’s focused, detail-heavy, and critical.
Documentation alone can make or break incident response.
Clear notes save hours.
Poor notes create chaos.

🔴 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠
Many assume they need:
• Every tool listed in job descriptions
• Every certification upfront
• Every skill before applying
That’s not how hiring actually works.

Job descriptions are often wish lists, not minimum requirements.

Many analysts are hired because they understand:
• How systems communicate
• How logs tell a story
• How to think through incidents logically
Tools change.

Fundamentals transfer.

🔺 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞
Understanding networking basics
Knowing how a SIEM works conceptually
Practising alert analysis and documentation
Building simple labs to see attacks and detections
Cybersecurity isn’t about knowing everything.

It’s about knowing how to think when something goes wrong.
If you’re exploring this role, focus less on titles
and more on what the job actually asks you to do.

That clarity alone puts you ahead of most applicants.

Considering a cybersecurity career?
Complete the form to explore our NCSC-aligned training and mentoring pathways: https://lnkd.in/eanPfvHT

#cybersecurity #entrylevel #2026goals

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

I want to talk about something uncomfortable, but important.
Many people tell me they want to transition into cybersecurity.

They see the opportunity.
They feel the pull.
And then they stop.
Not because they aren’t capable.
Not because they lack potential.

But because they’re afraid to invest in themselves.
Somewhere along the way, we were taught that education ends with a degree.

That learning after college is optional.
That paying for education is risky.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝘀:
School happened by default.
College happened by momentum.

But intentional education is a choice, and that’s what makes it powerful.
When you consciously choose what to learn, why to learn it, and how it connects to your future, something shifts. You stop collecting certificates and start building capability.

I see incredibly talented people limiting themselves because they’ve been taught to fear investment. They underestimate their ability to grow. They wait for confidence instead of building it.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗱.
Not because people don’t buy.
But because they don’t believe.

Education isn’t an expense when it expands your options.
It’s leverage.

The most expensive decision isn’t learning late.
It’s staying where you are because learning feels uncomfortable.
If you’re waiting until you “feel ready”, you might be waiting forever.

Growth doesn’t come from comfort.
It comes from commitment.

And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do
bet on yourself, intentionally.

No tech background required.
If you’re exploring a structured route into cybersecurity, start with the form below: https://lnkd.in/eanPfvHT
 

#supporteducation #student #cybercareer

Cyber isn’t one role, it’s an ecosystem.

Transitions accelerate when you focus on progress, not pressure.

Cybersecurity isn’t a single job, it’s a full ecosystem.
And growth-minded transitions succeed faster because they stay focused on progress, not pressure.

Here are 7 practical tactics to build real cyber momentum:

1) Share transferable strengths
 ↳ List skills from past roles that already apply.

2) Learn one concept together
 ↳ Study a core cyber topic and discuss applications.

3) Assign skill-building projects
 ↳ Create simple exercises that build competence.

4) Give progress-focused feedback
 ↳ Evaluate clarity, improvement, and effort consistently.

5) Solve cyber problems as a team
 ↳ Brainstorm solutions to realistic scenarios.

6) Rotate cyber responsibilities
 ↳ Take on small tasks across different domains.

7) Celebrate transition milestones
 ↳ Acknowledge certifications, projects, and progress.

Cyber growth is iterative.
You don’t need to “be technical”, you need to be consistent.

P.S. What’s the next small cyber step you’re taking?

♻️ Repost to help someone entering cybersecurity.
➕ Follow Victoria Coker for cybersecurity career clarity and practical guidance.
#AskVictoria Coker

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