Influence and Mission
Influence
"a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige"
Our influences are based on our beliefs of who has and holds prestige in business, law, and society.
Our belief is that enterprises operate most healthily in an environment where the most precious resources are free people. Further, recent history has resoundingly demonstrated that a "free market economy" has nothing to do with freedoms of people, or not.
Our research shows that free people are free only when the law of the land is observed at the highest levels, and that the same law applies to all people, especially people of power. In the cases of the most extreme risk events of the last 50 years, the exposure trails demonstrate direct and active involvement of elements in that layer of enterprise control. In every case, they were able to do so simply because those in lower layers of control - who hold more real power if they act in certain ways - did not so act.
Our risk practice has demonstrated that in the instances that count, risk and exposure are mitigated only when ordinary people act in the face of exposure incidents, which takes two qualities: the moral conditioning to differentiate right from wrong in business, law and society, and the courage to act, to initiate a transparency and reporting.
Extrapolating from that, we expect more moral courage from the leaders of business and government simply because so much more is measurably at stake. Yet, the most powerful instances of moral courage are to be found these days only with the ordinary worker, for whom much more is at stake. The ordinary worker is an individual with non power-based prestige. When they act and hold a line to do the right thing, they risk their very means of sustenance.
The risk for the elite is the risk of losing their power. For too many, power has become the only source of prestige. Paradoxically, that's exactly when they should lose their prestige and hence, influence on business, law and society, when it's becomes only about the power.
Therefore, we believe the discipline of RISK ARCHITECTURE is more desperately needed than at any other time in a free market society. Doing the "right thing" mitigates risk for "the most". It is the most democratic way to be, and the least risky. And that's the name of our business...fictional notion of relativity. I believe morals are based on
beliefs, and beliefs are based on absolutes. I believe in right
and wrong, not some abstract form of diversity. I believe a man
should keep his word, stand for what is right, and stand against
that which is wrong. I believe ethics should be immune from
compromise. I believe in order and purpose, not chance, luck or
coincidence. I believe Honor stands the test of time. I believe
in the sacred trust between friends. I believe that one does not
betray a friend, no matter the cost. I believe orphans need a
home, and children need a father. I believe in the love of my
wife and smiles from my children. Though I am a simple man, this
is what I believe. Based on recent events and what I profess to
believe, I am formally resigning as Fleet Standards manager A300.
This man is Roger Purdy, and at Risk Architecture, we cite his story frequently to illustrate what we mean by moral courage. Roger Purdy's story has been written in our publication, Risky Business Magazine.
The most extreme threat to any Enterprise is the threat that one or more stakeholders will give in to fear, greed or coercion, and either individually or in groups, conspire to cover-up an incident, an error, an exposure - something gone wrong, a risk realized.
This practice of covering up, rather than displaying moral courage, has become a national and corporate past-time that has bankrupted so many.
Too many of those in business and government leadership, and other positions of power through wealth, have demanded "moral clarity" of everyone else, except themselves. The negative results of such Enterprises to stakeholders at large must be scientifically measured, in order for their influence to be canceled, either through force of perception, or through litigation.
Risk Architecture provides the framework, the blueprint, the big rules, the method and means, the metrics, the resources (all of which, except the will, have been available in the risk business for many years) to help create a sea change in organizations by use of extreme transparency and traceability. This is our mission.