Here Are 3 Reads and a Listen that Are Worth Clicking

What happens in our browser doesn't stay in our browser. Here are some interesting nuggets we found recently that are worth sharing:

‘I couldn’t have imagined’
When someone whose career has been in government decides to jump to the private sector, there are myriad considerations. In this piece by Peter Pirnejad, he explains why he made that choice and how it’s worked out for him: “This is a journey that I couldn’t have imagined when I was new to government in the 1990s," says Pirnejad. "Back then, no one could have predicted the impact that technology can have on the efficiency, transparency, and predictability of such a highly regulated and complicated review and approval process.”

Inflated IPOs and cash burn:
The headline minces no words: “Overpriced tech IPOs sell grand visions but aren’t worth their valuations.” But surely there’s a reason for the valuations placed on such 2019 IPO breakouts as Uber,Lyft and Pinterest — right?

“In reality,” says this piece in The Conversation, “there is surprisingly little evidence supporting IPO valuations. It is almost impossible to establish a relationship between the underlying data and the valuation. The main influences are clear: a resonant company vision and rapid user growth.”

For a CISO, a sine of success:
The conventional wisdom is that the average chief information security officer’s tenure is only a couple or three years. Here’s a private-sector CISO’s take on how to achieve and measure success: It’s all about flattening out the sine wave.

“Many a CISO, myself included, struggles to define true success of their work and impact," says Chris Hymes. "Data and metrics are critical but they can also lie, be focused on the wrong things, and lead to overconfidence (you can’t measure what you don’t know).”

'Broadband Conversation' with a Californian
She’s the chief innovation officer for San Jose, the nation’s 10th-largest city, and SLED vendors up and down the state know her name. Now Shireen Santosham has gone national with an appearance on a tech podcast.

“Broadband Conversations” is hosted by Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, and it’s a forum where, she says, “I talk to some amazing women from across the technology, innovation, and media industries.” In this episode, Santosham discusses her own personal and professional history and gives a glimpse of life inside the city’s C-Suite. Give it a listen  it’s a great investment of 18 minutes.