Across a three-part series of short articles, we are going to take a look at some aspects of increasing the resiliency of your business. Done right, these areas will help to build a solid foundation from which you can grow your business. Conversely, if done poorly, these areas can have disastrous consequences for your firm.
The three areas that we will look at are:
- Organisational and risk culture
- Cyber security
- Supplier management
This list is by no means exhaustive, but these three areas are often overlooked with the focus of firms being directed to financial measurements. That isn't to say financial measurements are not important, but other factors can certainly have a material impact.
The first in the series is organisational and risk culture.
You may be familiar with the Peter Drucker quote: ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’. What are your thoughts on that?
Our take is that it doesn’t matter how good your strategy is: if you haven’t got the right people, with the right attitudes and behaviours executing the plan, it is destined to fail. Do you think that’s true?
So, what is culture and why is it important?
“The culture of a group arises from the repeated behaviour of its members. The behaviour of the group and its constituent individuals is shaped by their underlying attitudes.”
Institute of Risk Management
Getting the right culture is fundamental to the success of the firm. A firm with a good culture, that displays positive shared values and positive behaviours, will have a strong platform to operate from.
What do you think the benefits are of having a good culture? Does it allow for more engaged and proactive staff? Does it allow individuals to make better decisions? Does it provide for more informed risk-taking?
We think so.
What kind of culture does your firm have? Can you, or do you measure and monitor it? Does senior management lead by example and live the firm values?
How can we help?
At MacRoberts, we can work with you to assist in developing and embedding cultural indicators to help you drive your business forward.
For more information, please contact MacRoberts' Head of Risk, Phil McCrossan.
