The Cyber Leverage Matrix
Outcomes & Safeguards
Executive Summary
“Busy security teams don’t win. Outcome-driven ones do.”
This framework helps CISOs escape the activity trap and run security like a business anchored on three outcomes that matter: Efficient. Decisive. Effective.
/// Safeguards ///
People (Who)
Process (How)
Tooling (What)
/// Outcomes ///
Efficient
Capital Efficiency
(ROI)
(ROI)
Align Talent to Value
Ensure the right level of talent is working the right problems. Stop paying premium rates for work that junior staff can handle.
Q: Why is our most expensive talent doing work that a junior analyst could do?
RED FLAG
Burning Budget: Your highest-paid talent is stuck doing entry-level tickets.
Kill Control Waste
Eliminate controls or process steps that create activity without measurably reducing risk.
Q: Why does this control exist if it doesn't measurably reduce risk?
RED FLAG
Zombie Processes: We do it because "we've always done it."
Cut Tool Sprawl
Reduce overlapping tools so spend maps directly to outcomes, not vendor count.
Q: Why are we paying for this tool if the metrics don't justify its cost?
RED FLAG
The Tool Zoo: Buying more logos to fix problems caused by having too many tools.
Decisive
Business Agility
(Speed)
(Speed)
Accelerate Decisions
Shorten decision cycles by giving leaders fewer, higher-quality signals at the right time.
Q: When do human decisions slow the business because information takes too long to produce?
RED FLAG
The Meeting Merry-Go-Round: Everyone has an opinion; nobody has authority.
Unblock the Bottlenecks
Identify where work actually slows down and redesign flow instead of adding urgency.
Q: When does critical work sit waiting instead of moving forward?
RED FLAG
Shadow IT: The business buys their own tech because Security takes too long.
Automate the Mundane
Automate repeatable actions so humans focus on exceptions, not execution.
Q: When are humans forced to perform repetitive tasks because automation tools don't exist?
RED FLAG
Excel Hell: Managing million-dollar risks on a spreadsheet from 2019.
Effective
Operational Excellence
(Optimized)
(Optimized)
Upgrade Human Judgment
Train and structure our teams to be smarter and make better decisions.
Q: Where are the events our folks should be learning from to get smarter?
RED FLAG
Hero Dependency: The program survives on individual heroics, not systems.
Reduce Risk, Not Motion
Measure success by risk reduced, not tickets closed or controls executed.
Q: Where is there an activity that we need to improve to get to an outcome?
RED FLAG
The "Green Dashboard" Lie: All systems say "Healthy"; the attacker is already inside.
Make Tools Earn Their Keep
Every tool must demonstrably improve detection, prevention, or response or be removed.
Q: Where could we better deploy our current tooling to do this more effectively?
RED FLAG
Security Theater: We pay for top-tier tools, but can't prove they stop attacks.
Leverage Levels
Most teams think they’re optimized. Very few are Leveraged.
Real advantage comes from being unburdened by wasted effort.
Every area left busy or unoptimized is a recurring tax on your speed.
Busy
- People execute tasks
- Process measures activity
- Tools accumulate
High cost. Slow response.
Optimized
- People specialize
- Process removes waste
- Tools are rationalized
Lower cost. Moderate speed.
Leveraged
- People focus on judgment
- Process optimizes flow
- Tools automate and inform
Efficient. Decisive. Effective.
