Business Leadership 8: Protect the Organization from Internal & External Threats

This continues our series on how leadership traits and roles help your business

As a leader, you protect your business from internal and external threats. Every organization experiences threats from competitors, government regulations, market changes, client whims, and obsolete product. Your business will also generate internal threats in production, marketing, employee apathy, or financing. While traditional SWOT analysis help you identify weaknesses within and threats from without your business, you made need more.

Protect Your Data

You must protect your personal and business data from outside threats. Identity theft remains a growing threat to American businesses. Your business accounts also need protection. Business accounts include:

• Checking accounts
• Employee records
• Client accounts
• Tax records

Several organizations offer data protection tips:

• Trend Micro shares Top 10 Tips to Keep Your Small Business Safe
• IT on Command  talks about Inside the Firewall
• Symantec shares a Small Business Protection Guide
• Michael Dougherty explains Securing Your Database
• IT Security Column provides Internal and External Security Threats for Business Today and their Solution

Protect Your Intellectual Properties

Richard Reed wrote an article called Besieged: Confronting Intellectual Property Threats. He said “Intellectual property is an organization’s most important asset. It includes its knowledge, its ideas and its identity. Companies that conduct business in today’s brand- and image- intensive marketplace must protect their own intellectual property and avoid infringing on the intellectual property assets of others.”

Intellectual property includes:

• Trade secrets
• Trademarks
• Privacy
• Product research and development

You can find additional ideas:

• CIO discusses Hacked: the Rising Threat of Intellectual Property Theft and What You Can Do about It
• The United Nations outlines New Threats to Intellectual Property Rights
• Carnegie Mellon explains Theft of Intellectual Property and Tips for Prevention

Protect Everything Else

Osmond Vitez, an eHow Contributor, wrote How to Establish Internal Control with no Material Weakness. He said “Internal controls are processes or activities that help prevent the abuse of a company’s business or financial resources.”

You can find additional ideas:

• QuickMBA: SWOT Analysis
• What Makes a Good Leader published SWOT Weakness Explained

Saturday we begin describing the leadership traits that inspire your employees and clients