Passionate about Compliance Communications & Training: When Did that Happen?

9/13/16: When you’re new to any profession, one of the first things you learn to say about yourself is that you’re passionate about your work. Sell office equipment? You’repassionate about implementing systems that make professional environments more efficient! Teach school? You’re passionate about molding young minds and watching new ideas come to life in the eyes of a child! Wait tables? You’repassionate about providing extraordinary customer service!

Given the choice between hiring two people, who would hire the guy that is merely highly competent when offered the option to hire someone that is absolutely passionate?

And so, for years in the Ethics & Compliance business, I was passionate about helping companies create Codes of Conduct that could be a truly meaningful resource for companies; I was passionate about providing in-person training for management teams around the country; I was passionate about designing training and communication programs for companies of all sizes who were struggling with the best ways to reach their employees and have a real impact on their behavior.

Somewhere along the line, something happened. I startedto see what things really worked, and what things really didn’t. I started to see that an intelligently designed Code and a careful application of behavior-change methods could radically transform the way employees thought about, talked about, and felt about compliance. I saw that you could implement communications programs and experience tangible, quantifiable results. And when I saw those things happen – because of work I had contributed based on my learning, ideas, and beliefs – I felt a real thrill of accomplishment. I discovered, much to my surprise, that I had actually become passionate about compliance communications and training.

Many sincere thanks to the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics for this interview in which they gave me the opportunity to share my strongly held beliefs on this thing about which, weirdly enough, I seem to have become genuinely passionate.