My least favourite nonsense way to sell a product is to prey on the insecurities of the reader.

• They won’t tell you about the key to a successful career in data protection.

• Nobody talks about the key that unlocks six figure salary jobs.

• Your childhood bullies are talking about you behind your back and only I can tell you how to stop them

It’s manipulative, it’s sleazy and it’s all knockoff Tony Robbins. These losers read ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill and they assume that you didn’t. And you probably didn’t because you’re sensible.

So let me try this: the key to success in life is a very widely known and discussed philosophy called Stoicism. It has been helping people to beat adversity and achieve great things for thousands of years. It is not a secret known to a select few. I am not the only person who can tell you about it. Stoicism feeds into modern psychology and a lot of self-help gurus are just repackaging it. At least one famous Stoic makes a cameo appearance in the movie ‘Gladiator’.

But having salted the earth for my own course, let me tell you what this day is about. The Stoic DPO is about using well-established techniques to be an effective DP professional. We’ll look at developing your approach to the sector, how to frame your advice, how to deal with adversity and how to build a resilient DP culture in your organisation. We’ll take our inspiration from the Stoic greats, but the aim is to be the best DPO you can be.

Togas are optional.

Course includes

• applying Stoic principles to your work – concentrating on what you can control, not ruminating on things that are outside your control

• work on your resilience – don’t take things personally and analyse how you could have handled challenges more effectively

• treating adversity as training for future encounters

• eliminate toxic emotions

• think about the interests of others and put yourself in their shoes – don’t assume everyone is interested in data protection

• apply a healthy scepticism to what you’re told, and verify people’s assertions

• avoid motivated reasoning – start with the problem, not the answer everyone wants you to give

• be persistent and methodical – it’s better to do something than spend too much time perfecting it