Picture this. It’s early Monday morning. You’ve driven through a blizzard on Interstate 90, with great care, because you absolutely must be at the office for a video conference with new clients. You’re nervous, but prepared. You turn on your computer. You get this message: “DNS Server Not Found.”
You have no Internet. No email. You can’t retrieve network files. You can’t even print.*
You’re about to panic, but you remember something. Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who died a couple thousand years ago, has saved the day. We can explain.
Stoics in IT
Marcus Aurelius has been trending for a decade or so. His collection of essays, “Meditations,” is a modern best seller. People are reading other Stoics, too—Epictetus, Seneca, and Zeno of Citius (the founder of Stoicism.)
Modern Stoics like popular podcaster and author Ryan Holiday have fueled the trend. Tech investor and writer Tim Ferris gets credit for introducing Stoics to Silicon Valley, where they flourished. Stoic values like focus, control and resilience under pressure are essential in the IT world.
Stoics in the Black Hills
High pressure environments are not new. For centuries, the Stoics have offered leaders practical ways to live in times of turbulence, chaos and change. Mount Rushmore offers four examples.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson read Seneca. (Jefferson had a copy of Seneca’s writing at his bedside when he died.) Abraham Lincoln is famous for remaining calm and focused during times of chaos and confusion. Just like a Stoic. Theodore Roosevelt carried with him the works of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. He loved challenges so much, he created them for himself. Just for fun! (Very Stoic.)
But what about that DNS fault on a snowy Monday morning? Marcus Aurelius had something specific to say about that. It’s in Latin, but we’ll translate.
Premeditatio malorum (or, what could go wrong?)
“Premeditatio malorum” means, literally, “premeditation of evils. Marcus Aurelius, who also was an emperor of Rome, put it this way: “Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness.” Harsh, but useful. A network administrator might say: “Today I shall be meeting with hackers, scammers, DNS faults, and Larry, who opens emails from Nigeria.”
Other hazards have been around for millennia, shared by Roman emperors and Black Hills IT techs alike. Let’s examine some:
- Volcanos? Check. (Vesuvius and Mount St. Helens))
- Fires and floods? Check and check. (See Nero fiddling and forest fires)
- Pirates, plagues, and spies? Check, check, and check.
- Human error? Of course. It’s history’s most common hazard.
- Visigoths? Well, no. But we do have the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
On YouTube, Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferris each talk about premeditatio malorum in the modern world.
Vigilia, praeparatio, mollitia
Translation: “vigilance, preparation, and resilience.” That’s a Stoic structure for surviving misfortune. First, imagine potential disasters. (“Today I’ll meet pirates, error messages and a power outage:) Before it happens, write a disaster plan. (And put a hard copy near a flashlight.) Finally, expect surprises and plan for resilience. (See below.)
It’s a simple plan, but the details can be challenging. Here are some actionable steps you can to increase vigilance, preparation and resilience:
- Staff training. (Including disaster-plan training.)
- Backup power and Internet access. (There are affordable options.)
- Multifactor authentication. (Training required, but essential.)
- Strong passwords and regular software updates. (Also essential.)
- Hardware inventories to identify outdated equipment, (Like printers.)***
- Redundant backup systems. (See 3, 2, 1.)
- Failovers. (Automated switching to backups. A key to IT resilience.)
Challenging, yes. But, like Teddy Roosevelt, the best network administrators love challenges.
In summary: practice premeditatio malorum. As Seneca the Stoic wrote: “He robs present ills of their power who has perceived their coming beforehand.”** As we recommend, learn to love asking “What could go wrong.”
Notes
- It”s not the printer, it’s the network. (See below if it’s the printer.)
- *Marcus Aurelius: “Meditations,” Book II.
- **Seneca: “Epistulae Morales,” Letter 76.
- ***If the problem is your consumer-grade printer, here’s a tip. They’re expensive to repair and cheap to buy.