Acquisition International - Issue 9 2021 13 12 Acquisition International - Issue 9 2021 Leading the Progression of our Society It is critical to include recognition and feedback. The real value behind crowdsourcing is the engagement you are able to create; making sure that people are recognised for their inputs and given feedback of what was appreciated engages them further in the company and its objectives. In crowdsourcing, every voice counts and must have an equal weight. And so, together with its clients, Magnifor designs and builds uncertainty management approaches ensuring that the right people see risks and opportunities at the right time, enabling teams to act with skill and confidence and extend the boundaries of what is possible in their response strategies. That is how a company builds resilience in the roaring twenties of our times. Magnifor is led by co-founder and CEO, Marischa van Zantvoort, who started her career in management consulting and commercial roles before joining Philips, the Dutch multinational corporation headquartered in Amsterdam in 2009, where she served as an executive business leader for ten years with a start as a chief auditor. From there, she held leadership roles in customer service, commercial operations, sleep and respiratory care, and served in a leading role in the divestment of Philips Lighting. In her last role at Philips, Marischa was the chief commercial officer for the Philips Healthcare Informatics business. Speaking about risk culture within businesses, Marischa says, “Let me debunk the myth that having a risk culture means avoiding risks. Most companies with a risk culture are likely taking more risk than less or prevent them. They are comfortable being uncomfortable and embrace risks. They can do that because of two main reasons. One: they see the threats and chances coming their way rather than being surprised by them. Two: they have more insight into the uncertainties. With that, they can respond faster to early and even weak signals that inform them. They don’t need to predict the future; they are creating it. “Leaders who seek breakthrough results must embrace the uncomfortable truth: most risks and opportunities their organisation will register in the coming year are already known by somebody in their organisation today. Knowing these in their earliest stages gives leaders a head-start in response strategies. As William Gibson wrote, ‘The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed yet.’ “Another risk out there is that ‘risk management is so 2019’. Yes, risk management as we knew it. The world moved on and so should the discipline of risk management. Most leaders that I speak with recognise that risk management was there to satisfy regulators. And these practices had no value beyond compliance. Now leaders want risk management to focus on better decision making to get to business success. The purpose of risk management must go beyond just compliance. The ‘why?’ of risk management is not managing risks as such. It is about people learning to make better decisions and so contribute to business success.” To make a real impact, risk management must be integrated with organisational effectiveness, but little has been done so far to connect these two worlds – and this must change. Risk management in the decade ahead requires a bold, new approach that integrates organisational effectiveness with their human resources. Leaders who wish to create a new level of performance in their organisations need a risk culture that includes all workers in the organisation. Like every consulting firm, Magnifor’s people are the most important asset, and it practices what it preaches: when working in teams, every voice counts and gets an equal weight. For example, everyone contributes to interviewing candidates regardless of levels of seniority and years of work experience. When Magnifor recruits people, it is looking for specific skills and competencies in the area of transformation and risk management, of course, but also industrial experience is beneficial. Magnifor is looking for people with an evidenced ability to challenge the status quo and inspire action and transformation. And, most importantly, it is always looking for candidates with grit; passion and perseverance, and an unremitting eagerness to contribute to the success of the company’s clients. Meanwhile, a prominent topic in conversations today is the emerging concern about “The Great Resignation”. Post-COVID, employers are finding employees leaving their company in droves. They are not leaving because of how they were treated by their employers, rather, they are leaving because of how they were not treated. The work Magnifor does will re-energise the employee’s bond with their company’s goals. And with that, it is a leveraged way for an employer and leader to show their people that they are taken seriously way beyond the cliché, “I hear you”. Introducing Magnifor’s approach shows a willingness to actively listen, and a means to immediately and effectively act on what’s being shared. To activate this with and for its relations, Magnifor has created the Risk Leadership Society. It is a community of practice discussing aspects of risk management, transforming culture, and getting to a Risk Leadership Mindset™. Modernising risk management seems simple but may not be easy. Compare it to losing weight: eat less, move more. Sounds simple, right? But not appreciating the challenges one takes upon his or herself is a mistake and may lead to disappointment. Therefore, Magnifor’s intent is to team up like-minded great thinkers who want to push the curve of risk management transformation rather than running behind the future. Executives across multiple industries will be invited to explore and walk this new talk while sharing experiences, best practices, and failures in a safe collaborative environment. When you want to go fast, go alone, but when you want to go far, go together. Participation in these sessions is still available. Company: Magnifor Consulting Contact: Marischa van Zantvoort Email:
[email protected] Website: www.magnifor.com