Executive support: Struggling to get the attention of executives and the board? Not able to make security a priority for the business and advance items important to security? Try looking at the problem through new eyes — namely theirs. How do executives view the business? What risks and threats to the business are they concerned with? If you can view issues from the perspective of the C-suite, you might have better luck communicating why security is important in a language they'll understand far better.

Security strategy: Sure, you may have a formal security strategy that was written a few years back. But have you looked at it with your present-day eyes? The environment in which the security team operates changes constantly. It might be time to take a fresh look at the overall direction of the program.

Risk: Do you understand the risks that the business faces? Are you sure? Risks evolve continuously and understanding what they are and how they affect the business today is paramount to successfully securing the business.

Threats: Are you familiar with the information security threat landscape that you face? Are you certain that your knowledge is up to date? It might be time to take a new look at the threat landscape as it pertains to your enterprise.

Goals: When was the last time you set goals for the security team? Was it at a time when you may have looked at the information security world differently? If the last time you examined goals was not so recently, you will likely see the topic differently now. Give goals a glance through your present-day eyes.

Priorities: The security team's priorities are likely shifting constantly. New challenges arise continuously, as do old challenges. So why is it that you set priorities only once per year, or even less frequently than that? Of course, priorities cannot be reset daily, but there is a balance here. Try looking at priorities more frequently than annually.

People: You're likely quite fond of and proud of the security team you've built. You've probably assembled a group of skilled and talented contributors. But there is more to the equation than just the quality of the team you've put together. There is also consideration of the alignment of the team and their skill sets to your strategic objectives. Has it been a while since you took a look at your team from that perspective? It might be worth a new look.

Process: I've seen my share of bad processes over the course of my career. Even the good processes I've come across were written for a given purpose under a specific set of circumstances. What if the purpose and/or the circumstances change? Over a period of time, this is almost always the case. Given that, doesn't it make sense to reevaluate whether or not different processes make sense in the current environment? Casting a fresh look upon processes often produces more effective and efficient ones.

Technology: Maybe you love your security tooling. Maybe you hate it. Maybe you painstakingly architected your security stack with an eye for detail. Maybe you inherited some or all of it. Whatever the situation, it's likely that things have changed quite a bit since the tooling in place was procured and deployed. Isn't it time to ensure that the technology in place still fits the bill? My guess is that you'll find several pieces that are no longer appropriate.

External organizations: You probably have a membership in a few different external organizations. Perhaps you are a part of mailing lists, attend conference calls, or participate in meetings with these organizations on a fairly regular basis. When was the last time you stopped to think about what you're actually getting out of these organizations versus what you're putting into them? What once made sense may no longer be the case. Definitely worth a glance with fresh eyes.