25 November 2017

Imagination: Limitless Exploration Ahead...

 “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
--Dr. Mae Jemison
When was the last time you traveled outside your own country or beyond?  The discovery of new places, environments and the opportunity to experience other cultures is a key factor in gaining new context.  The learning and the observations of how other people behave and how things work in other countries, provides additional insights to your own social and economic factors.

What works in one organization, city, county or country may not be enough to make a difference in other places around the globe.  The limits, the parameters or the laws may work in one geographic location and simultaneously have little relevance or importance somewhere else.  This could be due to environmental factors, culturally historic issues or just simple critical infrastructure, either present or non-existent.

Who do you respect past or present, for their ability to imagine something new, something different, something better or something that has never been thought of before?  People with limited imaginations have not experienced what these thought leaders have seen, heard and felt both physically and emotionally around the world.

Over time, the transport vehicles included animals (horses, elephants, camels) boats, ships, balloons, automobiles, aircraft and spacecraft.  The intellectual vehicles we use to take us other places by people who have been there include books, newspapers, television, radio, movies and the Internet.

Think about the people you interact with each day.  How limited are their imaginations?  Have they traveled far and wide across the world?  Are they well read in the latest current events, world issues and global challenges?  What opportunities have they been given in their lives to witness our planet, witness what humans are really capable of doing?  What has all of this done to give them purpose in life?

Scientists, researchers, inventors, disciples, professors, explorers, warriors, teachers, environmentalists, humanitarians, journalists, artists, photographers, mountain climbers, scuba divers, sailors, pilots, drivers, captains, astronauts and many others, have been increasing their abilities of imagination.  Why?
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you've imagined..."
--Henry David Thoreau
Did you ever wonder how someone you read about or see in life, got to where they are?  If you are asking yourself that same question, you must be wondering what ingredients they used, so that you could try and pursue the same path, or perhaps avoid it all together.  Is it curiosity?  Is it courage?  Is it resources?  Is it faith?  Is it environment?  Is it a mystery?

You see, the truth is, you still have the ability for limitless imagination.  Why haven't you explored it yet...

18 November 2017

Operational Risks Are Taking Executives By Storm...

Executive Summary

There is a growing threat on the business horizon. The risk of loss from inadequate or failed processes, people, and systems or from external events is taking executives by storm. This definition of Operational Risk also includes legal risk, which is the risk of loss from failure to comply with laws as well as prudent ethical standards and contractual obligations. It also includes exposure to litigation from all aspects of institutions activities.

In the course of a single day the organizational exposure to threats ranges from low to severe on the horizontal axis. It isn’t until you put the vertical spectrum into consideration that you arrive at your “Operational Risk Profile” for that particular slice of time. This vertical axis is the range of consequences that would impact the business should the threat event actually occur. It ranges from minor to disastrous. Each day our organizations live in a dynamic spectrum of tolerable and intolerable threats to our most precious corporate assets.

The Mission

The organization shall develop, implement, maintain and continually improve a documented operational risk management system. Identify a method of risk assessment that is suited for the organizations business assets to be protected, regulatory requirements and corporate governance guidelines. Identify the assets and the owners of these assets. Identify the threats to those assets.

Identify the vulnerabilities that might be exploited by the threats. Identify the impacts that losses of confidentiality, integrity and availability may have on the assets. Assess the risks. Identify and evaluate options for the treatment of risks. Select control objectives and controls for treatment of risks. Implement and operate the system. Monitor and review the system. Maintain and improve the system.

The Take Away

While you were in the Board of Directors meeting, your Operational Risk Profile changed. When you were asleep last night it changed again. The people, processes, systems and external events are interacting to create a new and dynamic threat matrix for your organization. Who is responsible for Operational Risk Management in your business? Everyone is.

You see, if everyone in the organization was able to understand and perform the mission flawlessly, then the business could stay in the lower left quadrant. This is where the threat exposure is low and the consequences are minimal. This is exactly why you are spending less and less time here. Only a guarded few understand the mission of operational risk management in your company. Only a guarded few can do it flawlessly. If you want to protect your corporate assets better than you do today, then turn those guarded few into the mission ready many.

11 November 2017

November 11: The One Percent Who Serve...

It is Veterans Day 2017 and all of those who understand what that means, are thinking about it.  Some out loud and for others, it is an internal battle of thoughts and emotions.

November 11 is a day that some families are sad about.  It is a day that so many other Americans think is just another day off.  Yet others think about that 1%, who now defend and serve our country.  Who are they and what are they truly feeling on Veterans Day?

If you really know anything about the life of a Veteran, you probably know that life inside the military changes you.  Just as working within any major organization for 2, 4+ or even an entire career, will impact your life in some way.

Spending that duration of time with others who served, whether inside the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard will affect your way of thinking about our country and our "Flag of Stars and Stripes"waving at the top of a pole, or "Old Glory" only raised to half staff.  What does the sound of 21 seconds of "Reveille"  remind you of?   Does a particular place or time in your life come into view?

The "One Percent" (1%) and those family members who surround and support them, know what Veterans Day is really all about.  It is unique for everyone in some special way and across America, you see pockets of how it is celebrated and expressed in words on social media and even in full page advertising in the Washington Post.

Hopefully you are in good spirits and you have a smile on your face today, as you experience another November 11th!  Our country is strong and our Department of Defense is there to protect the freedoms our nation is founded upon.

You have contributed your time, hard work and devotion to so many, and we may never know your name or sacrifice.  Thank you to the "One Percent"...

05 November 2017

Trust Decision Model: New Rules at the Speed of Light...

As a leader in your organization you rise each day with the inspiration to achieve the best possible outcomes for the tasks ahead.  Your outlook is positive and your goals are well communicated on what solutions you bring to the market you serve.  The course is charted and the plans are in place for you to execute your strategy with your team.

How well the day unfolds as anticipated and whether the tasks are completed on time and as planned is still uncertain.  Why?  We are human.  Humans have been studied by scientists and doctors since the beginning, to better understand our behavior.  What are they capable of and when is a machine better suited to a particular physical task or complex calculations?

As we invented new tools and machines to saw down trees, pound nails, dig holes and harvest our food, we wanted to continuously innovate.  We learned to adapt and to adjust these tools to accommodate new challenges, new environments and new hypotheses.  We learned to improvise and new brilliant researchers and inventors brought us automobiles, vaccines, airplanes, computers and even space travel.

Along our path of human progress there has been a tremendous amount of testing and experimentation.  We like to try to see what works and what doesn't.  Our curious nature keeps us seeking new ways to achieve the same outcomes, yet maybe faster or at a lower expense.  Economic prosperity or failure is in the hands of global markets.  How is the market performing today?

Yet as you navigate your small and specific path, you have choices to make.  Decisions on how you will spend your finite time to make your life better or to make a difference for others.  Your team, the company you manage, the agency you command or the country you lead, is counting on you.

The people, processes, systems and external events you encounter ahead, are comprised of hundreds of Operational Risks, that span a widening spectrum.  There is a high degree of certainty today, that you will encounter a myriad of actions, changes, deviations and climatic events that will challenge you.  These operational risks are not always known in advance, yet there are many that you already know about.

Mitigating risks and making decisions to improve your life and your organization are all in your control.  How many people have written best selling books to teach you how to do this?  How many Big Five Accounting firms have written reports and raised red flags for you, your owners, or operators and shareholders?

So what?

The decisions you make today, will make a difference.  A "Trust Decision" has a model.  Deciding to trust is not a singular event.  More precisely, it is multiple decisions occurring in sequence.  To quote Jeffrey Ritter:
"Every trust decision is a determination to trust an object, person, group, system, device, or information asset to be used to accomplish a specific task."
The more you study and understand "Trust Decisions" the greater knowledge you gain on your spectrum of daily Operational Risks.  This is because you know what the steps are in your particular trust decisions model and accordingly, you can calculate the risks to achieving the desired outcomes.

Here is just one example:
"On Monday, October 30th at 3:34 p.m., SpaceX successfully launched the Koreasat-5A satellite from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Falcon 9 delivered the Koreasat-5A satellite to its targeted orbit and the satellite was deployed approximately 36 minutes after liftoff."
While your team or organization may not have the breadth or depth of "Trust Decisions" that SpaceX has on a daily basis, your decisions are not a singular event.  What is your particular "Trust Decision Model?"  How well do you know how each component of that model will perform today?  Have you done enough testing, witnessed enough failures and now know the possible outcomes for each part of that model?

The new rules for your organization at the speed of light, your TrustDecisions are out there...go discover them.