My daughter recently explained her role in her previous school class: mediator and counsellor. There was no official designation or selection. She explained that “everyone just found their space and what they were good at.” As adults, lousy advice, imposter syndrome and egos often get in the way of finding our space. When I started Ethics Insight, I thought I knew our role. I was wrong.

Now, more than three years in, it’s clearer. The mission crystallised as I established the UK incarnation, built back after our Ukraine developer team’s disintegration (but thankfully not worse) and left branding and marketing (to those with talent).

1. Make risk relevant.
2. Democratise access to assessments and advice.

The first step is more of a quest – constantly questioning jargon, methodology, biases, preconceptions, and received wisdom. The briefest glance at the news tells us that organisations remain (often) unprepared or unaware of risk. It’s not (made) relevant.

But this post isn’t about that. It’s about democratising access.

What?

Three assessments, specifically:

1. External risk environment
2. Compliance maturity
3. Integrity culture

I’ll cover 2) and 3) in subsequent posts. These 20 quick-fire questions will not solve external risk analysis, but it’s a start and free. It’s also better than any country risk index. How? Because we go beyond country risk to consider sector risk and operating model. Increasingly, I’m speaking to people (including investors overseeing multiple assets in various locations, like Swedfund) who see far more resonance between sector risk exposure than country. This tangible experience chimes with my anecdotal insight.

The survey is designed to be intuitive and quick. That comes at a cost. I initially wanted “proper risk calibration” (scales, ranking, etc.). Then I asked people not working in risk to test those prototypes. The time taken to answer each question and the drop-off rates were high. The user experience was suboptimal.

We don’t just leave you with a result (from the assessment). There’s a PDF arrowed to your inbox customised to your scores (high, medium, low risk), with guidance on how to change, improve, or maintain the score.

Why?

Why would I compromise hallowed risk puritanism for engagement and speed? To make risk relevant to more people. Progress, not perfection.

I have spoken to many SMEs, and we all share a pain: we don’t know what we don’t know. For some, like me, I didn’t know anything about marketing and finance. I was buffeted by (self-interested or well-intentioned but misguided) advice of others. It wasn’t until I met the current team I rely on (thank you, Aveline, Irene, and Filip) that I could make sensible decisions in these areas.

Knowing where to start with risk can perplex most organisations (even big ones). Better to start simple and add than start complex and confuse.

Why now?

Three reasons:

1. Aveline explained that marketing should be what you’re comfortable with. I wouldn’t say I like selling. I prefer to put content out there, and if someone finds it resonates, there’s a basis for discussing and exploring ways we might collaborate. I’m comfortable putting out free assessments…
2. …because our mission is democratising access to assessments and advice.
3. We’re rebuilding the Ethics Insight platform (launch slated for September). The new version will include a (near) freemium option (along with the existing enterprise accounts) to open up crowdsourced and interactive assessments (and supporting advisory tools) for everyone. Assessing and addressing risks as a community. More on that, anon.

Please have a look at the External Risk Environment assessment, have a play, share, and let me know what you think.