Today on the show, I am delighted to bring you my conversation with Rupert Evill. Rupert is the founder of Ethics Insight, a firm that helps organisations make risk relevant and implement risk, ethics and compliance programmes quickly. Rupert has 22 years of experience managing risks and crises in a variety of different environments and worked on roles focused on investigations, political risk, compliance, crisis response, and counterintelligence and counter-terrorism. He has worked in over 50 countries, including in Asia for over 12 years. He has recently written a book entitled Bootstrapping Ethics to help limited resources navigate risk and ethical challenges.
Rupert is a bit of a kindred spirit in that like me, he as an aversion to “performative” risk management, ethics, and compliance activities. Many of these things are dogma and don’t work in the types of complex environments in which Rupert’s investigative expertise is incredibly helpful. We talk about all these things and more, including:
- Why ‘zero tolerance’ stances on ethical issues backfire;
- How bribery and corruption actually work in challenging environments – including some interesting anecdotes;
- The ‘dark arts’ investigations;
- Much more!
Show notes:
Rapport by Emily and Laurence Alison
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Subscribe to All Things Risk wherever great podcasts are found: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast
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Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com
This is the first in a potential series from The Decision-Making Studio called "Decision Reactions" in which we look at quality decision-making practice. In this episode, we tee up our FOCUS decision-making framework and apply it to a great scene from the film Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt.
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Get a copy of our short primer on the FOCUS framework by going to https://thedecisionmaking.studio/ and signing up for updates.
In this episode of the All Things Risk podcast, we have the pleasure of speaking with Bryce Hoffman, the founding partner and president of Red Team Thinking. Bryce is our first guest since launching the Decision-Making Studio (and we will be producing episodes more frequently) and I cannot think of a more appropriate guest.
Bryce Hoffman is best-selling author and an expert in the field of ‘red teaming,’ a practice that challenges strategies and enhances decision-making through the incorporation of contrarian perspectives. He brings a unique perspective to his work, having been the first civilian graduate of the US Army's Red Team University.
We begin our conversation by discussing leadership (and why Bryce views Elon Musk and Jack Welch as poor examples of leadership). Bryce then explains what red teaming is – it involves stress testing strategies, uncovering blind spots, and examining assumptions to improve decision-making. It's a method used by both military and corporate organizations to identify vulnerabilities and produce robust plans.
As we delve deeper, Bryce shares how red teaming can be particularly valuable in leadership roles. By embracing diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of open dialogue, leaders can prevent groupthink and make better-informed decisions. He stresses the importance of challenging assumptions and valuing dissenting opinions, ultimately creating stronger organizations and resilient teams.
Throughout our discussion, Bryce provides lots of practical examples and actionable advice for implementing red team thinking in different contexts. We touch on the power of scenario planning, the benefits of actively seeking out devil's advocates, and the necessity of constantly reassessing strategies.
We wrap up our conversation by exploring the future of decision-making and the role that red teaming will play in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Bryce's insights leave us with a renewed appreciation for the value of critical thinking and the power of embracing opposing perspectives.
Show notes:
Book: Red Teaming: Transform Your Business By Thinking Like the Enemy
Bryce’s Book American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company
Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline
Shakespeare in the Bush by Laura Bohannan
The Logic of Failure by Dietrich Dörner
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
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Like what you heard?
Subscribe to All Things Risk wherever great podcasts are found: https://thedecisionmaking.studio/podcast
Learn more about The Decision-Making Studio
Drop us a note: allthingsrisk@gmail.com