A recent Compliance Perspectives podcast explained how compliance can be a competitive difference maker. Rather than risk-avoidance, an effective compliance function supports effective risk-taking and innovation.
With podcast host Adam Turteltaub, Jacki Cheslow, Director of Business Ethics and Compliance for the Avis Budget Group, recapped a panel discussion from the European Compliance and Ethics Institute for 2019.
My key takeaways from the podcast include:
- Compliance is there to help an organization accomplish its goals (fulfill its mission and vision).
- Compliance can be a competitive difference maker (we are the organization that does things right).
- Rather than risk avoidance, an organization should talk about opportunities and what can be done (compliance supports effective risk-taking and innovation).
- To support effective risk-taking, compliance must change the conversation from "no, you can't" to "yes, you can," but with an explanation of what's required to make it happen.
Walt Disney's Aversion
The key attribute that has fueled more than fifty years of Disney park innovation ... was Walt's aversion to the word no.
Marty Sklar, Disneyland "Imagineer"
My last takeaway from the podcast immediately reminded me of Walt Disney's aversion to the word no, and how this aversion was critical to his vision for Disneyland. "Imagineer" Marty Sklar explains:1
"The Disneyland creators determined early on that you could say, "Yes, if ..." to Walt and explain the options. But you could never say, "No, because ..."
"Yes, if ..." is the language of the enabler. "No, because ..." is the language of the deal killer.
"As Disney Legend Bob Gurr put it, "You never said no to Walt, because he would find someone who was willing to take a chance and try something no one had ever been done before. That's why we have monorails and submarines and rockets racing through Space Mountain in the dark!"
Next time you're presented with a new idea where you're inclined to say "No, it won't work," try to come up with three ways it could work by saying instead, "Yes, if ..." (emphasis mine)
By recasting the idea this way, new creative solutions are given an opportunity to come forth before a final decision is made.
Here's the link to 12-minute Compliance Perspectives podcast referenced above. It's a good listen for anyone with compliance or supervisory responsibilities.
1 Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making More Magic Real. Disney Editions, 2010. Introduction by Marty Sklar.