Why it DOESN’T MATTER if You Reach Your Goals

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Why it DOESN’T MATTER if You Reach Your Goals

Did you make New Years’ resolutions this year?  If you did, by mid-February you’re likely to lose your resolve.  In fact, according to US News & World Report, 80% of people that make a New Year’s resolution lose their steam and fail to reach their goal over the course of the year.  Does it matter if you don’t reach your goal? Counterintuitively, it depends on what happens during the process of pursuing the achievement of your goals. 

Jim Rohn, a godfather of motivational speakers, posits that goals don’t matter in and of themselves.  He says, “The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.”  What does this mean for you and how do you use this idea to your greatest good?

Step One: Make Big Goals

It is sad that there is so much truth in Thoreau’s statement that most people live lives of quiet desperation.  A lack of a compelling vision that creates concrete goals is a major reason for this sadness and depression.  Without a challenging and exciting goal, each day can easily blend into the next.  Jim Rohn reminds us, “Don’t set your goals too low. If you don’t need much, you won’t become much.” 

Find the courage to chase after big, scary, thrilling dreams. In your professional life, that may be reaching the CCO role, speaking in front of 100 people, publishing an article, or committing to joining a networking group…and showing up to each meeting. 

In your personal life, you could choose something scary that you aren’t sure you can do.  Last year I decided to complete my first marathon.  I genuinely didn’t think I could do it, but the idea excited me.  Committing to the vision was the first step to completion.

Step Two: …

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Three Worrying Data Privacy Trends to Watch

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Three Worrying Data Privacy Trends to Watch

Can you guess how many countries in the world have data privacy laws?  According to the United Nations, 107 countries currently have these laws in place, and an additional 10% of countries have draft data privacy legislation, meaning there will likely be another 20 or so countries being added to the list in the coming year(s).[1]  And the United States?  If you are unfortunate enough to have a data breach, you’ll need to look up the law from Alaska to Maine, as there is no single law governing all of the states. 

On one hand, this can be a nightmare for those in compliance that are handling privacy.  On the other – job security.  Trends in data privacy are challenging right now, leading to more complexity and difficulty for companies.  Here are three trends to watch, and recommendations about how to deal with them.

Trend One: More and More US States trying to be “Tough” in their own way…

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Are You Guilty of Chronic Over and Under-estimating?

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Are You Guilty of Chronic Over and Under-estimating?

It’s January and you’re raring to go.  You’re feeling fantastic today.  You can conquer the world.  You choose 16 metrics to track your program’s effectiveness.  You decide your Code of Conduct needs a refresh - immediately.  You plan to bring in an improv team and to create a gameshow during Ethics and Compliance Week.  You can do it all!

Cut to six months later.  Your metrics project has died.  You’ve given up on the Code refresh.  Your plan for Ethics and Compliance Week now consists of putting out cupcakes and hoping people come to talk about compliance.  You feel defeated and spend your workday watching the latest cat videos instead of tackling your to-do list.

What’s going on here?  In his book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, author Vishen Lakhiani argues that “we tend to overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in three years.”  He argues that we tend not to expect nearly enough of ourselves in the long term.  This leads to short-term frustration, which can hinder our capacity to get done what can be accomplished.  The feeling of failure from missing our short-term goals often leads to diminishing expectations of what we can accomplish long-term.  In response to our perceived failure with respect to our year-long goals, we withdraw from grand long-term goals. Both tendencies work against our success. 

What can we do about this? …

 

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Join Me for NAVEX's TOP TEN TRENDS for 2020 Webinar!

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Join Me for NAVEX's TOP TEN TRENDS for 2020 Webinar!

For the second year in a row, I’ll be co-hosting NAVEX Global’s annual Top 10 Trends webinar! And this year, we have some predictions you won’t want to miss.

2020 marks several cornerstone topics, including: updates to regulatory requirements, digital environment impact, new agency guidance, data privacy, workplace behavioral shifts, and much more.

Ensure you’re taking a proactive approach by learning more about how these trends impact your organization, and hear practical recommendations you can implement now. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

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We asked, you answered: What is Your TOP Priority for Your Program in 2020?

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We asked, you answered: What is Your TOP Priority for Your Program in 2020?

In December we asked thousands of compliance officers what their TOP priority was for 2020.  The answers are in, and they may surprise you.  Is your top priority aligned with everyone else’s? Let’s find out.

Number One: Compliance Program Assessment

42% of respondents answered that their program review/assessment was their top priority for 2020.  This isn’t surprising, given the huge focus the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs gave to program assessment.  In it, prosecutors were instructed to consider, “whether the company has engaged in meaningful efforts to review its compliance program, and ensure that it is not stale.”  Companies must “evaluate periodically the effectiveness of the” program. 

Program reviews are critical because new laws and regulatory guidance mean that expectations shift over time.  Without a program assessment, it’s easy to fall behind regulatory expectations or legal requirements.  Nearly half of respondents took this to heart to make completing your program assessment their top priority for the year.

Number Two:…

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