Governance vs. Profit: Adversarial games, tactics, actors and damage that come from risk, security, resilience and safety pursuits on both sides

There will forever be tension, disputes and misunderstanding(s) between those that seek to govern or regulate and those that are 'busy playing the game' or entities and industries trying to make money.

Particularly where either-side has little to no experience in each other's role or responsibility(ies).

These divides are particularly acute and even more pronounced in matters of security, safety or risk.

In other words, if you are a junior or senior regulator/governance individual, with little to no actual experience in the day-to-day running of operations, business, administration, contracts, projects, technology and the endless, growing bureaucratic demands of running a profitable, sustainable business...you will never know all the formal and informal rules and requirements of the 'the game', often viewing even the most basic of 'play (read business) as reckless, dangerous and requiring even more control, regulation and 'frameworks'. Like a hovering parent.

Conversely, if all you have done is play the game, work in a single industry/entity, then you will never know what is required to make public policy, govern for the good of the crowd, be a public servant or keep the state, nation and entire population safe, security, free from harm and equitable for all. You are likely to view everything as 'fair game' and view parental oversight as a handbrake for fun, profit and enjoyment.

Both personas play for different teams, with different rules and vastly differing objectives or outcomes.

Notwithstanding, poor actors, policy and practices on both sides, routinely resulting in attempts to conceal or not apologies for mistakes, oversights or inefficiencies. Because part of the bigger game is not trusting or respecting the 'other side'. For the very few that have represented or played for both sides...it is daily chaos.

Each side is trying to outplay, out manoeuvre, conceal and catch the other side out.

One side wants more access, data, oversight and scrutiny...whereas the other builds walls, plans in secret and uses backchannels/lobbyists to influence and deflect where possible.

This is the 'bigger game' for those that know and see it routinely.

Risk, security and safety are the most prominent areas this occurs, in my experience.

Derivatives such as cybersecurity, workplace safety, business resilience, critical infrastructure and risk/security reporting...even more so.

Adults forget what it is like to be a child. You fall down, you get up, you go again. This is how humans learn to work. So too do businesses, products and services. But as we become adults, we worry.

We have more responsibility, more knowledge and more uncertainty, fear and anxiety.

If a child is born with only two natural fears, loud noises and the fear of falling... the rest are learned. So too are business fears. You learn to fear more than you start with. Sometimes this is healthly, and preserves the business and species. Sometimes they cause duress and result in endless rumination, depression or duress to individuals, communities and business operations.

Resilience is undermined and elusive. Add regulation and onerous 'parental controls', you get family tension, disputes and deceptive tactics on both sides.

Trust is lost and corrective action, intervention or professional support is required. If not, barbarous comments, behaviour and harm are traded between parties. Safety, security, risk and resilience suffers similar traits, states, tensions and evolutions. Negotiation, understanding between all parties, through remediation, mentoring, communication, disclosure, collaboration and representation is necessitated.

This remains the essential professional and vocational role for risk, safety, security and resilience practitioners and professionals alike.

Few fully understand the tightrope and 'many masks' role one has to fulfil and perfect. Such are the demands of wanting to play, parent and survive. This extends life expectancy for humans, business, communities and industries.

This is life-long resilience, from birth, through maturity until natural conclusion.

One of the few organisms that are indicative of perpetual growth is cancer...which ultimately kills the host. Individuals, organisations and industries should remain vigilant and cautious to courting cancerous traits, behaviours or harm(s).

This is often expressing in systemic risks, endemic harms, emergent risks and distributed, networked threat(s).

Avoidable, preventable harm(s), within reason.

In sum, governance, oversight and regulation remains distinctly different from that of business and commercial pursuits. Each side is playing a different game, with different rules and vastly different objectives. This creates tension, disputes and trust issues.

These tensions become more pronounced and acute in matters related to or about security, risk, resilience and safety.

As a result, highly specialist skills, experience and knowledge is required on both sides, for those in between and those part of the 'bigger game'. While seemingly obvious, may forget or infrequently remind themselves of these realities. Particularly across jurisdictions, borders, cultures and industry(ies). Some appear reckless, whereas some are. It can be hard to tell the difference, until it is too late and harm is done or unavoidable. Especially if unsupervised. Governance is therefore mandatory, to a degree.

In short, parental (governance) responsibilities differ greatly from that of child (business, profit, commerce).

Unlike the human experience, where we get to be both child and adults, business and governance/regulatory actors may never experience, understand or participate in both roles, Favouring one over the other. Hence the potential for sustained 'games', tensions and misunderstandings when forgetting this reality.

“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”

―?Lewis Carroll,?Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

―?St. Augustine

Ridley Tony

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences