Lessons Learned, Part 2

After I posted my very first EVER blog yesterday (thank you Stephanie and SCCE for shoving me into the digital age), I lay awake last night realizing that I panicked under pressure and left out more important lessons learned. So. Part 2.

I learned that space travel is still alive and well.

I learned that my irrational  fear of a foam roller isn’t so irrational and that crop circles are real! And I learned that “none of us is as dumb as all of us” when Groupthink occurs and facts are ignored.

But more importantly, I learned that it’s okay to have a crisis of conscience. It’s okay to ride the roller coaster of doubt that Compliance is actually making a difference. And it’s okay to even step back and re-assess my own beliefs. Because what I’ve learned the MOST is that the group is stronger than the individual. I’ve learned that the SCCE offers us a safe haven in which to rest, re-energize and learn.

I’ve learned that the same topics and issues plague us all and that as a collective, we can solve the problem.

I’ve learned that we are ALL pioneers and that I’m thankful for the trailblazers (Marjorie, Debbie, Odell, Art, Roy, et al.) who are still here (and smarter than dirt).

Here’s my confession- for a brief time, I lost faith in Compliance. I am a former CCO who lost faith that “our tribe” matters. So I stopped and took a time-out.  But coming to Vegas, I have learned that my passion has been re-ignited and not only that our tribe matters, but it matters more now than ever.  The Yates memo and the recent decision by the European Court of Justice is changing the direction of our course, but we are not alone in conquering this altered terrain.

We have more resources today to meet our unique needs to instill compliance in organizations ranging from privately-held European companies to publicly-traded public companies.  We have more ammunition in terms of data (salary surveys, benchmarking studies on bribery and corruption trends) to demonstrate to the naysayers the unquestionable value of the importance of Compliance. For me, these lessons translate into a renewed sense of purpose.

In the meantime, I’ll try not to be so afraid, even when I see smoke rising from Roy’s cell phone as he continues to tweet his way into space.

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