Members of the armed forces are the world’s best risk managers. They need to be, because if things go wrong the results are far worse than a damaging headline or a dent in the balance sheet.
For the military, adverse consequences include the risk of being killed or wounded. Yet, contrary to what many people assume, lethal risk is not managed through mechanisms of ‘control’. Rather, it is the tools of command – especially those that create the cultural conditions of ‘common intent’ that reduce risk and drive performance under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
The military do not choose ‘command’ (culture) over ‘control’ (compliance) for theoretical reasons. Their choice is grounded in what works! So, while it would be misguided to model civilian life on that of the military, there are useful lessons to be learned from their experience. This is especially so when one recognises that the civilian world tends to rely overwhelmingly on regulation, surveillance and compliance to manage its risks.
This is not to say that an ‘anarchic system’ is anything to be wished for. However, it is important to realise that rules are not enough. Indeed, an over-reliance on narrow forms of compliance almost always increases levels of systemic risk.
Such a warning will resonate with many people who feel overburdened and aggrieved by regulation.
- But what do those same people have to offer as an alternative?
- What steps are they willing to take in order to build a capacity for voluntary ethical restraint?
- How often do private sector leaders create the very conditions that they complain of by demanding that legislators and regulators show them ‘precisely where the lines are drawn’ – where the only possible response is to create another rule!
Be part of what promises to be a thought-provoking and valuable discussion.
Dr Simon Longstaff AO, Executive Director, The Ethics Centre
Dr Simon Longstaff AO began his working life on Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory of Australia. He is proud of his kinship ties to the Anindilyakwa people. After a period studying law in Sydney and teaching in Tasmania, he pursued postgraduate studies as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
In 1991, Simon commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre. In 2013, he was made an officer of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to the community through the promotion of ethical standards in governance and business, to improving corporate responsibility, and to philosophy”.
Simon is an Adjunct Professor of the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW, a Fellow of CPA Australia, the Royal Society of NSW and the Australian Risk Policy Institute.