2 - We Deeply Understand the Purpose and Vision of the Firm we Protect

~ We Deeply Understand the Purpose and Vision of the Firm we Protect ~

We must be expert risk advisors and partners to our business. To be in such a position requires us to develop expert knowledge of the business’ past, present, and future. Past, Present, and Future. We must be knowledgable about where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. We must know the purpose and vision of the business. Thus we will study the minutia of our Universe and will evolve our knowledge, thinking, and practice with changes in the Universe. There is no tolerance for gaps in our knowledge of the Universe. Gaps will arise, and we will run to fill them quickly.

We cannot take this challenge lightly. It is one of the biggest challenges we face as practitioners. We are required to know where the business has been, where they are today, and where they are going. This is no easy feat. So whatever matter is at hand, ask where it was, where is it now, and where is it going. Fill in the knowledge gaps. Then advise.

There are numerous factors we must comprehensively understand about our businesses. We must understand the clients of the business and what is important to them. We must understand all external influence on our business. We must understand how the business delivers goods and services end to end. We must understand who is involved in the delivery. We must understand challenges in the delivery. We must understand what has gone wrong, what is going wrong, and what can go wrong. We must understand how client needs are changing, and thus how the business is changing. We must understand who, what, where, why, and how of business change. We must understand where the business is going. WE CANNOT EFFECTIVELY ADVISE if we do not understand these things.

We can no longer advise from behind. Too long has our profession struggled from this position. And, when we are caught up, we can no longer be content to just run along with our business. We must also operate from a future position, thinking ahead of where our Universe is going, while not forgetting the past and present. The greatest value we add is that which is oriented in the future. But again, all three time orientations (past, present, future) are necessary considerations to come to the best advice and outcome. Thus we must constantly transcend time by maintaining and exercising our activities based on the past, present and future of our Universe in order to properly fulfill our role.

The future is where we will anchor our position for the greatest value. We must race ahead, and never look back. The world races on faster than ever, and it’s at the lead where the opportunity for valuable influence and innovation is greatest. We recognize this challenge, and rise to it and the rewards it reaps. When we fall behind we are distraught with discomfort, and we should be. When we have consistently established ourselves in this future position, we know we’ve arrived at the pinnacle of our profession, Oracles of risk.

It’s the place of the great unknown. It’s the place where new thinking and new creation is born. It’s uncomfortable, it’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s incredibly rewarding. To be ahead, to think from and about the unknown, to reason about what can go wrong, to bring those ideas to the table, places us on the leading edge of value and innovation.

We love being in the future position. Where we once felt our business had an insurmountable lead on us, we now blaze the trail and our endurance is inexhaustible. But we must remember, that this position requires us to be experts of our business in the past, and the present, or we risk flying blind.