From the first day at work when you feel like the proverbial rabbit in the headlights to the point you are running the organisation, the most invaluable lessons are those shared in the office with colleagues and clients. It’s setting up for life and the experiences you will have as you grow as an individual. So essential is passing this on to those around you, because they can learn from you as you will from them, so sharing as you go is setting you up for an enriched life and satisfaction later that you have helped others.

Making the commitment to an ISO standard isn’t a light step to take! The average business will make these commitments when they have to rather than because they wanted to. Three decades ago when my first start up was in the building mode, having one was the last thing on my list. However, once ramped, larger organisations insisted I made steps towards an organisation standard, then the BS5750 and BS7799.

Once committed I realised how much the methodology helped structure the workflow and once implemented helped the business structure its growth. This time around, lessons learnt along the way, it’s time to use this experience and share. A major commitment to ISO has been made over this passed year so that the organisation is managing its growth and is structured, rather than implementing controls later and after the event when its harder to change the culture and methods.

This time around ISO14001 was our first standard to reflect our focus and commitment to environmental awareness, now renewed and growing in its ability to focus the team towards our impact on the world we live in. Sharing goals to enhance how we operate and how best to do this for the longer term.
Then came the organisational standard, ISO 9001, essential for the day to day processes and then completed the commitment with ISO 27001, probably the most important standard and most challenging as a security software developer. Now in place, operational and the team fully embroiled.

Previous experience learnt and now implemented!
It’s time to pass this on to others: embrace the value that standards bring to your organisation and ‘grasp the nettle’. Pick a standard that translates across the globe so it’s respected in all geographies you intend to trade in. Take the hardest challenge first because otherwise it won’t get any easier.
And so for us, what’s next? firstly maintaining and developing the commitments made to the environmental standards, organisational and security standards that we have embraced, then look at others to continue our progression, such as B-Certified and similar organisations that are committed to help businesses work towards reducing their impact.