In this 6‑questions‑in‑7‑minutes interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with Ron Craig, the head of IT and cybersecurity for a Canadian employer. Ron explains that his work is driven by a lifelong desire to keep people safe, describing cybersecurity as a way to give back. He emphasizes the importance of authenticity, knowing your "why," and aligning business actions with personal values, arguing that this grounding fuels fulfillment and success. Ron shares a formative early‑life lesson from his first job at a fair, where he earned ride tickets by cleaning up, illustrating the power of hard work and initiative regardless of age. He recommends fellow leader Lorena Acosta as a future guest and directs listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn for cybersecurity insights. The episode closes with a call to find the podcast on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Hi, Professor Pete. Thank you for having me on the show. My name is Ron Craig, and I am the head of IT and cybersecurity for a company here in Canada. We'll call it a confidential employer.
That's okay.
Ron, it's great to have you on the show.
Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
What I really like about working in my industry, what I find is because, you You know, I mean, I'm in the business of helping people, you know, to keeping them safe. And I've always been somebody through my whole life where I've worked in a lot of roles and jobs of keeping people safe. So it's really just a progression of, you know, what I've always done. And, you know, and there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of joy and that comes from knowing that, you know, something that you may have done or that I do on a daily, you know, on a daily basis with security and tips and awareness that you know, somebody has said, you know, because of you, you know, we feel safer, or, you know, my children feel safer. So I actually do, you know, that, that to me is, you know, really giving back. So I really do enjoy being as helpful as I can.
I love that. And helping people in a way where, where in cybersecurity, where so many of us, including myself, have really no idea what we have to be aware of. So I mean, it's, it's like you're almost like a cybersecurity Superhero.
Well, you know, I don't look good in spandex. I got a couple rolls, so it's a— another episode. New episode.
Clay, question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Well, I don't know if it's in the book, but if it is, I would say being really authentic and true and kind of going to what You know, looking at why you're doing what you're doing, kind of what, you know, what's your drive? Why are you here? The authenticity of that to me is kind of important to make sure that you're, I think, grounded.
I like that a lot. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Really comes back to, I think, maybe the third question there where, you know, you want to make sure that your values are really what you're doing, why you're doing this. You know, it's almost, you know, your why. Like, to me, that's such an important thing because I think that's really what helps keep you grounded. And, you know, you really are focusing on the customer at that point because, you know, it's, it's about, you know, it's something that really deeply matters.
I like that. And knowing your why and, and the, the personal values work is something that is so important because if I'm understanding you correctly, if you do work that isn't in alignment with your values, chances are you're not going to be fulfilled.
Yeah, I don't think you would have the really passion for it. You know, you really, you have to be all in. You really want to be all in on what you're doing. It's not, you know, I think, you know, they say in the past, you know, I think when I was in school long ago, it's kind of, you know, when you look at, you know, what you should do for a career or what, whether it's even for a career or in a business, it's, you know, you know, what am I good at? You know, what do I love? And you want to make sure that you're picking. And of course, I think the third one is, and what will somebody pay me to do? Hopefully somebody pays you. But you know, that's the thing is you want to kind of find that alignment and make sure that you're, you know, waking up every day, you know, the fire in your belly to say, you know, this is the thing that I should be doing. And I think if that's, if that's, if that's how you feel, then You know, I think that's— you're going to go and you're going to do well at that. Mm-hmm.
Very insightful. I completely agree. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
I would actually like to acknowledge a very dear friend of mine, actually, Lorena Acosta. I think she would be a fantastic guest for your show. So, yeah.
Perfect. I'll reach out to her. Thank you for that referral. And our final question, question number 6: Please tell me about your first job.
Oh, the first job. I think I'm going to take you back, way back. I think it was black and white on TVs. I was always— so I actually, you know, I have this memory of back when I was around, I think about 8 or 9. Believe it or not, I actually had a job at that age. And it was interesting. It was actually at a fair. So when I grew up, we weren't, you know, I lived, you know, we were low income and we didn't have a lot of money. And it was very difficult to go and go to things like a fair. I mean, you know, you know, I didn't— I couldn't take for granted to be able to go and go on a Ferris wheel. That never happened. We didn't have the money for even something like that. So of course, as a kid, you see these fairs come to town and I wanted to be— I wanted to go, I wanted to enjoy, I want to see— go with my friends. So I managed to come up with an idea, a concoction or scheme of some sort where I actually went into the fair and I approached the trailer of the trailerhead dude. I don't know what you call them, but the carnival dude. So I went in there and I said, you know, I'd like to work here so I can get rides and go on rides and stuff with my friends. So I actually approached the guy and, you know, of course he— I think he probably looked at me like, what? What's going on? So he made a deal with me. He said, tell you what, if you actually help keep the fair clean, for every bag of garbage that you bring back to this Trailer, I will give you these. They were like little white tickets that kind of were special that said, you only need one and you can win the rides. We said for every bag you bring, you get a roll of these. It was like 5 or 10 tickets. So I worked nonstop from early in the morning. My parents were okay. It was just down the street. So they weren't that far away. It's a different time too, where kids can kind of roam a little bit. So, but yeah, I would. So I went every day. For the 2 weeks Carnival was there. And I cleaned up and I usually booked 4 or 5 bags of garbage, if I remember correctly, which gave me those rolls. And I was able to go and reap the benefits and the rewards of working hard at 8 or 9 years old to enjoy that my friends were doing. And yeah, so it's kind of a job. I was getting paid in tickets. But, you know, to me, that was a very important lesson. You know, that, you know, it doesn't matter what, you know, who you are. It doesn't matter how old you are. You know, if you really want something, you know, you work hard, you can, you know, you can actually find a way to get it.
And I love that, you know, it, you know, he obviously wouldn't have been able to pay you, you know, money because you were too young for that. But the fact that he gave you the tickets for the rides, it was a win-win. And the carnival was cleaner because of it. And taught you some responsibility as well. It's a great story. I love it.
It was a fun time. I still remember it. I mean, you know, I'm, let's say, more than 8 now, and I still remember that yesterday.
So, Ron, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
Well, they can find me on LinkedIn. That's pretty much where I am most of the time when I'm doing anything on social media, you know, making sure I get the posts out there for people to see, to be a little safer. And that's really the goal, is to make sure that I get enough visibility on posts and articles and, and, you know, just regular engagements to make sure that I'm there, I'm helpful, and that people can maybe just be a little bit safer in their day, you know, by something that I might have done.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
