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In this episode, we sit down with Rich Greene, a former United States Army Special Forces Green Beret and current SANS instructor for SEC275 and SEC301. Rich shares his incredible journey spanning 20 years in the Army, including his transition from military communication roles into the realm of cybersecurity. He talks about the importance of fundamentals in cybersecurity, the power of effective communication and persuasion, and dispels common misconceptions about entering the cyber field. Rich also highlights his passion for teaching and how his military background has shaped his approach to instruction and information security. Tune in for invaluable advice that applies to anyone no matter your role!.

Check out John's SOC Training Courses for SOC Analysts and Leaders:

• SEC450: Blue Team Fundamentals - Security Operations and Analysis
• LDR551: Building and Leader Security Operations Centers

Follow and Connect with John: LinkedIn

Click here to send us your ideas and feedback on Blueprint!

In this episode, we sit down with Ryan Thompson, a seasoned expert in building dashboards that actually detect real threats—not just look pretty. With experience at Elastic, Alert Logic, and top EDR vendors, Ryan shares deep insights into the science behind effective dashboards and how security teams can cut through the noise to find the threats on your network.

We cover:

• Why most SOC dashboards fail to deliver real insights—and how to fix them.
• The right way to structure dashboards for SIEM, EDR, and threat hunting.
• How to visualize security data effectively to make detection faster.
• The balance between automation, alerts, and analyst intuition.

If you’re a SOC analyst, detection engineer, or security leader looking to elevate your dashboard game and sharpen your cyber threat detection skills, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

Check out John's SOC Training Courses for SOC Analysts and Leaders:

• SEC450: Blue Team Fundamentals - Security Operations and Analysis
• LDR551: Building and Leader Security Operations Centers

Follow and Connect with John: LinkedIn

Click here to send us your ideas and feedback on Blueprint!

Surprise!! It's a mini solo episode to kick off the new year and it's on one of the most important topics there is - how to achieve your goals in 2025 and beyond!

In this episode I talk about a topic I've never covered anywhere before - my personal system for productivity and how it helps me, and can likely you help you stay on track for those 2025 goals and stay aligned with what is most important in your life.

Check this episode out for some useful productivity tips, inspiration, recommendations for some of my favorite books, and fuel to get fired up for 2025!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Note: The episode thumbnail is the actual picture that I took of the quote that I mention seeing in the coffee shop that day in 2018.

Episode Notes

• Simon Sinek - Start With Why
• The 5-Fold Why Technique
• Book - The 12 Week Year
• Book - The ONE Thing
• Obsidian
• The Eisenhower Matrix
• Book - Steal Like An Artist
• Book - 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Check out John's SOC Training Courses for SOC Analysts and Leaders:

• SEC450: Blue Team Fundamentals - Security Operations and Analysis
• LDR551: Building and Leader Security Operations Centers

Follow and Connect with John: LinkedIn