Just 11 weeks elapsed between the end of the last season of The Communications Risk Show and the first livestream of the new season, which aired yesterday. However, we could hardly sustain a larger break given the sheer amount of news which accumulated during that interval. It has long been said that electronic communications businesses must tolerate rapid change but I previously felt that claim was exaggerated. Now we have entered an era when transformation will be much more intense as margins are squeezed, companies merge, AI replaces jobs, the cloud accelerates the speed at which systems can be updated, and criminals exploit the extent to which societies are moving all commerce online. These factors have a knock-on impact as national regulators struggle to address global problems, security and data laws become more prescriptive but not necessarily more effective, consumers choose to stop answering their phones, and fewer staff are given less time to familiarize themselves with a broader range of industry challenges.
I have always believed the comms sector will struggle to learn if everybody is expected to behave like they already know the answer to every question. The calamitous implementation of the US strategy for reducing robocalls has beautifully illustrated how groupthink delivers suboptimal results. If every ‘expert’ is in agreement on how to solve a problem, but then their forecasts prove to be wrong, we should not simply accept their revised predictions. We should instead examine the wisdom of judging someone’s status by whether they agree to fashionable ideas. Human beings who are already performing at a high level will learn more from listening to disagreement than agreement, because interlocutors who engage in honest debate test the weaknesses of each other’s beliefs.
The global comms industry has long had severe problems with groupthink, as should be obvious to anyone who doubted the wisdom of security expectations being influenced by firms controlled by the Chinese state. The lack of seriousness behind some promises should also be apparent to those of us who see the blatant sexism displayed at industry events which pretend women will be given an equal chance to succeed. These are good reasons to have a weekly web program with no limits on what can be said, and where smart and experienced industry pundits like Ed Finegold and Lee Scargall will ruthlessly skewer every mistaken belief I hold, whilst putting other people’s opinions to the sword too. This season will also see us extending the formula by involving more guest presenters that represent a wider range of viewpoints.
But if your only experience of The Communications Risk Show comes from the paragraphs above then you might think our weekly Wednesday livestreams must be deathly dull. I greatly missed the wit of my co-presenters during the 11-week gap between seasons. Our conversations make me laugh because we talk frankly about our common interests whilst puncturing the pompous reverence that can sometimes dominate the professional realm. Risk managers should appreciate that people often make mistakes and things often go awry; it is easier to come to terms with failure, and then overcome it, if we habitually look on the lighter side of life. I am glad the show is back because I enjoy making it. It would be a bonus if the new season attains an audience that exceeds last season’s average of 2,400 viewers per episode. So I hope you had a few laughs whilst watching yesterday’s catch-up of all the major risk news in the comms sector. And if you missed it, then the recording can be found at tv.commsrisk.com, and immediately below.
