Directors and C Suite: Middle Market, Private & Family Business 5 Minute Self-Assessment
September 7, 2017 – Metro Atlanta, GA – Strategic enterprise risk management (ERM) expert and speaker Gary W. Patterson, FiscalDoctor®, asks this basic five-minute ERM assessment question. Was Amazon acquiring Whole Foods a black swan event, or considered by your organization?
Why is this a meaningful question? Google and Walmart seem to have anticipated something like this. Others are scrambling.
Unfortunately, many very large organizations seem to be describing events like the Whole Foods acquisition as a black swan situation. If you are partially or entirely in the scrambling category, what might be your Cost in Overlooking Easy to Find Million Dollar Blind Spots? ©
On that note, ask yourself, “Why bother to discover your blind spots?” Simply enough, consider the next step after finding your million dollar blind spots is to move to increase opportunities and revenues, and
decrease risks or costs.
Consider these 3 observations executive teams apply after discovering their blind spots, and how you can also apply them to your organization:
1. Major blind spots can both have good upsides and bad downsides
2. Some major blind spots are clearly unexpected and defensible.
3. Some are easy to see using hindsight, as the world is now prone to do.
Before you decide how to classify efforts to evaluate your organization’s abilities on this point, apply the following 3 questions to your ERM, contingency planning or strategic update processes:
1. When does the claim about blind spots become more of an excuse than a defensible statement?
2. What is the monetary risk threshold that must be crossed before anyone should care?
3. What is the impact, cost, and loss of recognition you will suffer from being in denial about your blind spots?
Simply stated, being on the watch for easily foreseeable, yet potentially material changes is why organizations have: risk management, business continuity, strategic planning, budgetary review processes, CAPEX, risk assessments, value based enterprise risk management (ERM), operational risk management (ORM), fiscal checkups, corporate governance, strategic planning updates, special board projects or requests and strategic growth diagnostics.
If you aced this simple question, be proud and then look to exploit an opportunity on others asleep at the switch. If this acquisition surprised your business and this change could impact you in more than an anecdotal way:
• Which of your functions listed above are asleep at the switch?
• What else might they be missing?
• How quickly do you need to make some changes?
And of course, be truthful with yourself in answering these 3 questions to gain the greatest insight! Maybe worth a call to discuss 678-319-4739.
Patterson works with leaders to uncover million-dollar blind spots: before they find you — to make better business decisions and dramatically accelerate correct fiscal leadership decisions. This helps leaders gain control of their financial destinies and capitalize on hidden high return opportunities, while limiting their exposure to risk.
As a part of their risk management process, it is imperative for management to understand the magnitude of risks in pursuit of their business objectives, and how the organization’s products and offerings and opportunities can be mapped to these risks. Just as every person needs a medical doctor; every organization needs a FiscalDoctor and periodic fiscal checkups.
About Gary W. Patterson
Patterson, a Big 4 CPA / Stanford MBA, speaks regularly on strategic contingency planning, governance, risk management, achieving corporate financial goals, and building long-term wealth. His book Million Dollar Blind Spots: 20/20 Vision for Financial Growth provides cutting edge follow-up for blind spots: how to identify them, exploit opportunities and mitigate risks. Visit his website at https://fiscaldoctor.com and “free” fiscal fitness test at https://fiscaldoctor.com/fiscal-quiz/ , or call 678-319-4739.
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