You must be mistaken…
What are the top five mistakes we (risk, compliance, etc.) make? A recent question that helped formulate my thinking:

Curse of knowledge – We assume because we know how things work, others do. I see highly intelligent people who know the rules and frameworks that govern and assume most are “common knowledge.” They are not! We don’t realize that things that seem obvious are far from clear to others.

We want to demonstrate or show our value. It’s like a goalkeeper diving around. The data tells us that almost all goalies jump (left or right) when facing a penalty, but if they stood still, they’d likely stop more goals. This “busy work” is accelerated during downturns as job insecurity creeps in. Sometimes, if things aren’t going wrong, maybe we’re doing something right! And sometimes, to stop things from going wrong, you need to stay still, observe, and then change your approach.

Saying “I don’t know” is often made to feel self-sabotaging. I see this in ALL the integrity culture survey responses (👇). As one friend put it, “As the General Counsel, I am looked at as some sort of authority, but the law is HUGE, and I constantly find myself finding creative ways to say, ‘I don’t know,’ (but I will soon!).” That not knowing can be the start of great learning (5 whys and all that).

Systems alone will not save us. The data shows that control failures account for ⅓ of frauds, cyber attacks, terrorist incidents, etc. In other cases, we miscalculated or underestimated the power of pressure (to make people do things they don’t want to) and rationalisation (the stories we tell ourselves to justify actions). If we focus on the human side – behavioural indicators – we start to manage the biggest variable.

Let’s say you work for a construction firm as the head of risk. Did you start out on a site in an emerging market? Possibly not. If you did, it was likely a LONG time ago. Even with the best intentions, we can create impractical solutions without frontline experience and input. The hierarchical and distance barriers between us and operations tumble when we ask for help…

If any of this sounds familiar, which one, and why?