People often think Compliance wastes a lot of time.I think it should waste even more.

By which I don’t mean more bullshit bureaucracy, tedious training or pointless policies. I mean spending more of its own time doing things that might turn out to be a complete waste of time.

Unlike functions with a more obviously creative remit, such as R&D, Sales or Marketing, Compliance is rarely given much room to play; it is somehow expected to get things right first time.

Which may explain why so many of its solutions feel familiar. The 'new' e-learning module that feels like every other piece of training. The policy that reads like every other policy. The compliance communications campaign that looks remarkably like the last one.

The question asked is usually not: 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?', but '𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦?'. 

Solutions aren't adopted because they're good, they're adopted because they're already in use or some consultant has told us it's '𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦'. In LEGO terms, we keep trying to build something new using only the bricks already in the toy box. 

That's understandable; when a new rule arrives or a problem needs fixing, there is rarely much time to experiment. But it also means we may be using completely unsuitable bricks.

So perhaps Compliance should spend more time designing new ones before they are needed; new processes, new interventions, new ways of communicating. Most of them will never get out in the wild. But a few might turn out to be exactly the right piece for the new problem. 

Because the best way to have a smart solution ready is often to have wasted time on it long before anyone asked.