𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆. The stuff of compliance officers’ nightmares — yet the very thing they hire me for.

That word is 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘳.

Literally, it means 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦: more aptly, 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 or 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.

It’s typically used as a negative to describe those who don’t conform to expected norms. 

The kind of people who ask awkward questions, derail agendas, and don’t ‘fit in’.

That might seem like an odd thing to celebrate in a compliance context. 

But it’s what makes my work effective.

I'm not 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘳 when it comes to being professional or meeting regulatory expectations; after all, I used to be a regulator. But I am when it comes to how I think.

Ideas that are 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘳 — predictable, calculable, comfortably familiar — are easy to find internally. But solving problems sustainably and being more resilient require fresh ideas that are more likely to come from being 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘳. 

So if you want insights and answers you can already work out for yourself, don’t hire me. Use your internal resources, or one of those consultants who write reports with conclusions you already know.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘳, 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵.