Force Multiplying Security: A Playbook
Feb 2025. Updated Sept 2025.
A few days ago I was catching up with two friends, a former US Army Green Beret and an IDF recon soldier in reserve. We talked about small teams and what makes them truly effective. The conversation moved fast from tactics to practical tradecraft, and after they critiqued some of my past notes we sketched a short playbook for small security teams that need outsized results with limited resources.
The core idea is simple: use what you already have, partner with the right teams, and apply automation and technology where it actually multiplies force.
Leverage existing capabilities. Tools, skills, and partnerships you already maintain are the easiest and fastest paths to impact. Look for the things that can be repurposed, combined, or re-prioritized to deliver immediate value.
Invest in partnerships. Security that lives in a silo is fragile. Deep cross-functional relationships unlock visibility, reduce friction, and turn one team’s defense into the organization’s posture.
Automate the mundane. Remove repetitive work so humans can focus on unique, high-leverage problems. Use data to guide decisions, keep automation simple, and make sure it scales without adding maintenance debt.
Treat improvement as continuous. Learn from success and failure, run red-team exercises, instrument outcomes, and close feedback loops. Small iterations with honest learning compound quickly.
Empower the edge. Decentralized leadership and initiative create resilience. Give people space to experiment, fail fast, and own outcomes. That mindset turns a small squad into a force multiplier.
Align with the business. Security must be measured in the language the business understands. Tie efforts to outcomes that matter to leadership and keep them informed without the noise.
Force multiplication is doing the right things with what you already have, smarter and together. This playbook is a flexible framework to help small teams become more efficient, proactive, and with a bugger impact.