Stream of Consciousness
We spend a lot of time in meetings But it is not always very clear why these meetings are organized. And given that many people actually do not really talk during or contribute to meetings, it makes you wonder whether all attendees need to be present. Why are employers paying
Stream of Consciousness
A brief history The relevance of using risk models as the basis for risk management was disputed in the beginning of this century. It actually remains disputed as an approach by a number of authors. In the early ‘00’s, leading risk management advisory companies did not see the reason
Stream of Consciousness
Procedures are an integral part of business The management of an organization depends for a significant part on established procedures which govern the way in which the organization confronts its challenges. Developing and writing procedures often comes as a afterthought, with either the quality department of a junior collaborator being
Stream of Consciousness
Traditional cost reductions don’t take customers in account Most organisations do not realize they are imposing significant burdens on their users. Any interaction involves a transaction cost. Organizations competed on cost reduction platforms, trying to drive down the transaction cost as low as possible … for their own operations. Quite
Stream of Consciousness
For those of you who speak either Dutch or French, a nice journalist named Brigitte Doucet wrote a comprehensive article based on the keynote I gave at the Software AG Process Forum in February 2011. While I am formally no longer actively working in burden reduction, one of the key
Stream of Consciousness
I’ve been using mind mapping in combination with with OmniFocus for better capture, processing and next action execution. Let me tell you a bit on how I got there. My brain is chaos Sometimes, I have chaos for a brain. I’m not kidding. In the past, this has
Stream of Consciousness
Why stories are important I often wonder what makes stories so powerful. Most of the successful business presentations I see are based on powerful underlying stories. The best presenters, be it in the boardroom or in front of a large audience, are able to entice their listeners into entering a
Stream of Consciousness
Difficulties in regulatory compliance Some regulations are notoriously difficult to ensure compliance with. Take speed limits for example. Few people will, when confronted with an empty or almost empty road, stick to the speed limits as indicated and “enforced”. Unless you are unlucky or not aware of where fixed and
Stream of Consciousness
Informal networks are competing with established business structures The cost of informal networks getting together, creating something and then splitting apart again has gone down considerably because of the internet and the collaborative and co-creation tools it now offers to these organizations. The economies of scale which once heralded the
Stream of Consciousness
Context There is discussion ongoing at the Belgian federal government level about the (minimal) independence requirements for internal auditors active the Belgian federal administrations. I want to weigh in with some thoughts on that. This article is partly based on a recent position paper by the IIA on independence and
Stream of Consciousness
Matthew Leitch has posted an interesting article on what integrated risk management actually means on his site, here. This analysis is based on a survey he executed and I participated in. As usual, his methodology as well as the scope of his analysis is well defined and well executed. I
Stream of Consciousness
The focus of reengineering and process optimization Many organizations have invested significant time and means in internal process optimization. Often for all the right reasons, such as performance improvements which were essential and reduced organisational bloat. Occasionally for the wrong reasons, such as the reaction the stock market will have