Decision Enablement: The Missing Link in Cyber Incident Response with Lisa Larson
About this episode
This episode discusses the importance of decision enablement in cyber incident response with Lisa Larson, focusing on the GEAR Framework and real-world crisis scenarios.
Why do even the best cyber incident response playbooks fail during a real ransomware attack or data breach? Because the biggest vulnerability isn't in your systems — it's how leaders make decisions under pressure. In this episode of Cyber Security America, host Joshua Nicholson talks with Lisa Larson, founder of Awakening Performance, about the missing link in cybersecurity: decision enablement. After two decades leading enterprise technology organizations and six years in breach response, Lisa developed the GEAR Framework (Ground, Explore, Attune, Resolve) — a protocol for cutting through cognitive overload, stress, and bias when the stakes are highest. Josh and Lisa dig into real-world ransomware investigations, Hurricane Katrina disaster recovery, tabletop exercises that reveal which executives will crumble in a crisis, and why technical excellence alone isn't enough. In this episode: Why incident response playbooks collapse under real pressure The GEAR Framework for decision clarity in a crisis Cognitive overload and executive decision fatigue during ransomware attacks The "we'll just restore from backup" assumption that sinks recovery Splitting tactical vs. strategic…
People in this episode
Host: Joshua Nicholson
Guest: Lisa Larson
Topics covered
- cyber incident response
- decision enablement
- ransomware attacks
- executive decision making
- cognitive overload
- GEAR Framework
Keywords
- cybersecurity
- incident response
- decision making
- ransomware
- GEAR Framework
- executive stress
- cognitive overload
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Awakening Performance
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