At Pythia Cyber we espouse real-world consulting. People always nod earnestly when we say this: doesn't everyone want to live in the real world? Why even bother to say this, let alone stress it as one of our core values? The opposite of living in the real-world is distressingly common. The most frequent causes of this are: Innocent ignorance: you have been sold a lie and you believe it. For example, "this piece of technology will make your network safe from attack, no matter what your users do." Bad leadership: you have sent the message to your staff that failure is not an option, so when the inevitable failure come, your staff conceals them. This usually involves misleading you, leaving you living in a fantasy. Worse, these misdirections often compound, making you ever more distant from reality. For example, "you said that piece of technology would protect us, so we dare not admit that it failed." Malice: someone in your organization wants something or to do so...