Workplace Safety

Fresh from its US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) final vote in August, 2012, The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 now faces its first legal test in US Appellate Court.[read more]

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Business owners have a long list of things they are responsible for; encouraging work safety among their employees is one of these. Not only do they need to do this for the safety of their employees, but also for their own liability. Safety also comes in many forms, from physical safety from injury to personal safety from harassment.[read more]

Can employee recognition really make a difference? Those wonderful research folks at Gallup insist that employee recognition is a powerful driving force behind employee engagement.[read more]

Whether you are one of those who like the term ‘risk appetite’, prefer ‘risk tolerance’, or advocate (as I do) the ISO 31000:2009 term ‘risk criteria’, this is a tough area. While regulators frequently (including Basel III and multiple nations’ corporate governance codes) require organizations to establish one, I have yet to see...[read more]

I’ve been seeing many organizations that have taken active steps to push ahead with a CSR initiative in a way that supports both the stakeholder and the community at large. There is a growing understanding that positive societal and environmental outcomes need to be a part of a company’s mission.[read more]

Consultants and other thought leaders (including software vendors) are pressing boards and executives to ensure their organizations have effective governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) processes.[read more]

I’ve tried to run a risk management program using Excel; it was not a success. It just took too long to update the spreadsheets and I simply didn’t have the tools to keep up with the speed of change.So I sought and obtained approval to acquire automated solutions.That was a few years ago and it is disheartening to see so many risk...[read more]

Image by tompagenet via Flickr

In life as in business, how you play the game is the key to winning hearts and minds. A lesson from the Olympic Games... We each have our own favorite memories from the Olympic Games -- whether it be Jessie Owens demonstrating the absurdity of Adolf Hitler's racist notions, gymnast Nadia Comaneci's perfect "10"s, Kerri Strugg's valiant vault on a sprained ankle to win gold or Michael Phelps' eight gold medals.[read more]

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You can't fake it in the age of transparency![read more]

Image credit: Zoetnet/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A segment in the movie Courageous provided me with a striking visual image about a man’s ethics. At a point in the movie a young father is told that he is being considered for a job promotion. In the lead up to this scene it is obvious that his family’s financial stability hangs in the balance with this job. The boss says before he will be given the new job, he has to first tell him if he will go along on a situation in the factory. The situation the boss describes has an element of dishonesty and the father is caught off guard. He is told that he must provide the answer by the next morning.[read more]

A report from Accenture, The Changing Face of Risk Management, talks about how risk management within financial services firms (with a focus on insurance) is changing – and in a very positive way (IMHO).[read more]

Image credit: Phil Manker/Flickr (Creative Commons)

I have been reading this very useful report by the Study Group on Corporate Boards (shared by Mike Brozzetti). The individuals involved represent quality, with eminent academics, board governance leaders, and former regulators. When they speak, we should listen – and they have a lot to say![read more]