Prologue

What’s not “Just that Simple“, what are you on about?

A reasonable question and not one that is easily answered. It’s taken me the order of two years to begin to understand that my internal struggle and discomfort was about trying to reconcile Espoused Theory and Theory in Use in the organizational context. To put it in simpler terms, to reconcile the gap between what I (the organization) say I (we) do versus what I (we) actually do, particularly in the context of managing risk – all aspects of risk and not just financial risk.

This context has been part of my workspace for over a decade and a half, one that has included the creation of organizational management systems (operational risk management, business continuity, compliance, assurance, etc.) for substantial organizations and then attempting (sometimes with little apparent success) to facilitate and mobilize their adoption. In fact, my observation is that operational risk management systems only function for a short period of time before they fall into a state of disrepair, no longer fit-for-purpose.

And when I compare notes with my colleagues, I find that I am not alone, others relate similar experiences and make similar observations.

The questions I began to ask over 5 years ago now were:

• Why?
• What’s going on?
• What are we doing wrong - if anything?
• What is it that we do not understand – that we need to understand?

And I still have not told you what I am on about and that is because:

It’s just not as simple as many of us thought – there’s more going on than meets the eye!

To explain to you what I am on about requires more than decomposition of assumption and fact to their core, but rather stories that shed light, maybe even new light on the phenomenon, which is what I will attempt to do, starting with this the article, the first of three I hope to publish over the next few months entitled (until I change them):

• It’s Just Not That Simple!
• Resiliency – An Impossible Dream?
• Is All Lost – Nothing We Can Do?

It is not my intention to deliver waterproof or airtight argument, but to explore some ideas that reflect thoughts and ideas that I have been mulling over for some time now, thoughts and ideas that I have struggled to articulate, let alone commit to print; hence the absence of articles for over 12 months.

To begin the journey, in this the first article, I want to explore some aspects of the complexity (it’s just not that simple) of the environment in which many organization’s operate, where:

• 90-95% of people’s decision-making is unconscious;
• Social Mood biases, predisposes the occurrence of social events (financial crises, etc.);
• Taylor’s (1) scientific management principles underpin the organization’s management philosophy.

Let’s start the story with Donald Rumsfeld’s (2) Unknown Unknowns.