“I Can Do Anything”

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NotebookJohn NoceroBy John Nocero
johnnocero@barkerinstitute.org

“I can do anything.”

I heard these words from a colleague last week. I was immediately irked. No, you can’t do just do just anything you want to do. As it was stated, it can be interpreted from an organizational standpoint – where people buck the rules – and a personal standpoint, where people believe they can accomplish anything with perspiration and elbow grease. Let’s explore both.

The complexity of today’s business environment can easily throw any compliance professional for a loop if they are not prepared. To combat this, they decide to wrap a policy around everything and call it done rather than critically thinking about a practical solution. The problem with this approach is that compliance involves interaction with other human beings. There is never a one size fits all approach. When this is your course of action, you don’t always get the best solution. In many cases, you get the mediocre one. It guarantees that you will never get it exactly right. As a compliance professional, I don’t care about this approach. Results are my only concern. Seeing things through your own eyes always gives you the best picture.

From a personal standpoint, you have to be aware that some employees do not know enough about their own limitations to critically evaluate themselves. They lack self-awareness. Yes, they actually think they can do anything if they just worked a little harder. Sorry Pollyanna – the truth is that we are all not created equal. There are people smarter than you, who write better than you, who communicate better than you and achieve more than you. And that’s okay. If you are working as hard as you can every day, you need to celebrate that. You also need to tell your leader where you lack understanding. It is up to your leader needs to fill in those gaps and you need to learn from this.

There’s no denying that both situations take you on a bumpy ride. Don’t let rules and regulations control your life to the point that you cannot use wisdom. Do not fail to see the forest because of the trees if other employees cannot. Don’t be overwhelmed compliance professionals – maybe you can do anything – provided you stay committed and apply some common sense.

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