From Screwdriver to Strategy: The Security Manager Mindset for IT Beginners

Most IT professionals learn what to do. This book teaches you how to think.After 25 years in IT, 30 certifications including the CISSP and CISM, and the rare distinction of having written the CISSP exam for ISC2 — twice — Michael Hasenfang shares the mindset shift that separates technical professionals who plateau from those who advance into security leadership.From Screwdriver to Strategy introduces the frameworks that senior security professionals use every day: the Golden Hierarchy for prioritization, the Flapjack Rule for sequencing decisions, and the discipline of Reading Like a Lawyer for precision thinking. It translates the risk language that executives speak, the systems thinking that prevents incidents from recurring, and the career strategy that builds deliberate advancement rather than accidental stagnation.Whether you are studying for your Security+ or your CISSP, managing your first incident, or trying to understand why technically brilliant colleagues keep getting passed over for leadership roles — this book gives you the thinking tools that no certification bootcamp teaches.