You Can’t Spell Compliance without Liance
Yesterday morning I was in chilly Chicago. On the train into downtown I asked the guy sitting next to me if the next stop was mine (showing him the address on my phone). He kindly spent 5+ mins guiding me off the train and through the maze onto Madison St. and to my meeting location. He was extremely kind and thoughtful. On the way we both passed a US veteran (served in the military for those outside the US) shivering in the cold asking for money. He clearly needed help. We both walked on by as if he wasn’t sat there. When I lived in the States I thought I understood America; now I live back in Europe I realize I was too close and really don’t understand it at all. Why did we both (and thousand of other wealthy citizens on their way to work) walk by a person in need and not even offer help? For the last 36 hours I haven’t been able to get it off my mind. I followed what everyone else was doing and didn’t do the right thing. I am ashamed of myself.
On the way back from the meeting I saw an advert which also stuck in my mind but for far less important reasons. It was a document management system and it said something like “when the auditors ask if you are in compliance what will you say?”. Living in my own little world it got me thinking. Compliance with what? It seems there are a few main things to consider.
- Government Regulations
- Industry Regulations
- Internal Policies and Standards
- Industry Marketing & FUD
When thinking about compliance it seems important to ensure that you are not basing your understanding and subsequent actions on Industry Marketing & FUD. It’s important important not follow the crowd.
Scott Adams cartoon is timeless.
November 11, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Mark I really like your posting……
It made me think of something, of how there are dead fish and live fish. Salmon swim upstream to survive and continue to produce young, it is only the dead fish that go with the current. Unfortunately to go against the current is always more difficult because of our need to be accepted within our professional and social circles and with time we become blind and just accept. This is why moving around, changing our environment is so healthy, because it gets us to question our very base values upon which we live and work by. And this is a reason why I love the social networking revolution that we are in now, because it gives us the opportunity to open our eyes and ears to what others are saying even if we have not changed our environment in a physical sense