Systematically improving professional services

My beady eye has been caught by another excellent thought-provoking Protiviti article by Jim DeLoach with Randy Armknecht concerning board-level blind spots.

I highly recommend reading and contemplating Are There Blind Spots in Your Boardroom?

Jim and Randy offered ten practical suggestions for boards to address the issue. Here they are with my thoughts and ideas on how to apply them in other contexts, besides the boardroom, such as within the information risk and security management team for example:

1. Assess whether current board culture, composition and agendas are fit for purpose in the current disruptive business environment.
   
   
   Assess the current team culture, composition, priorities, skills & competences, expertise, relationships, interests etc. with a view towards the future. How should the team evolve or adapt to changing circumstances, building on past successes and learning from failures?
   
   
2. Hold effective executive sessions without management present and with specific company executives.
   
   Hold regular internal team meetings.  See also #6.
   
   
3. Conduct a periodic self-assessment of the performance of and collaboration among the full board, its designated committees and individual board members.
   
   Clarify relevant organisational objectives, then develop appropriate metrics to monitor team performance in helping to achieve those objectives.  See also #7 and #8.
   
   
4. Request an objective culture assessment seeking confidential feedback from all levels of the organization and ensure that the unvarnished results are reported to the board.
   
   Work with peers from other specialist departments, and management, piggy-back and incorporate questions about pertinent aspects of corporate culture of interest to the function into culture surveys, studies, feedback opportunities ...
   
   
5. Pay attention to input and feedback from analysts, investment bankers, start-ups, and suppliers and other external partners who are part of the value ecosystem.
   
   At least once a month, focus the team on 'what's new out there', inviting team members to explain the concepts, dig beneath the marketing fluff and imagine - or demonstrate - how this can be of value.
   
   
6. Obtain briefings on industry, competitor and technology trends as well as feedback from customers.
   
   Invite expert guests or key customers or vendors to talk on interesting and relevant topics to the team meetings every so often. 
   
   
7. Assess the quality of discussions with management and the intelligence feeds and feedback loops into the company’s strategy setting and execution processes.
   
   Clarify and measure against objectives for effectiveness, working relationships, trust, value etc. from the customers' perspective.
   
   
8. Determine whether board education is adequate, relevant and timely.
   
   Constantly review and work to improve team competences, skills, priorities, deficiencies, working relationships, alignment, innovation etc.
   
   
9. Encourage customer advisory teams, knowledgeable subject matter experts and field operators to challenge assumptions and provide fresh insights.
   
   Actively solicit genuine customer feedback and act on it.
   
   
10. Make more effective use of internal audit, particularly with “connecting the dots” on matters pertaining to culture."
    
    Collaborate with peers on areas of shared interests ... and differences of approach.
    
    

That's enough for today ... but this weekend I'll  be quietly mulling-over the idea of 'blindspots' and what we can do about them. More to come, when fully mulled.