FM Global "steal" the initiative whilst others dither – Insurance Insight

It is very rare to read about meaningful innovation, from an insurer, that is about anticipating and responding to policyholder needs but that is exactly what FM Global appear to have done. Well done to FMG and I sincerely hope that they reap the reward of competitive advantage, that such a rare development merits. BUT I do have my concerns.

Whilst it is not for me to question if they know what they are doing…as far as offering protection and reassurance to their customers they undoubtedly do…I wonder about the timing. Perhaps they have overcome concerns about the current turbulence in the global economy OR have decided to pursue a bold strategy right out of the Warren Buffett handbook: “be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy”, so plan to be perfectly placed to capitalise upon the lessons that must be learnt following another credit crunch – i.e. the realisation that price is only one metric and that risk management does not = resilience management!

Complexity: size doesn’t always matter

Complexity is a measure of the total amount of structured information (which is measured in bits) that is contained within a system and reflects many of its fundamental properties, such as:

• Potential –  the ability to evolve, survive
• Functionality – the set of distinct functions the system is able to perform
• Robustness – the ability to function correctly in the presence of endogenous/exogenous uncertainties

In biology, the above can be combined in one single property known as fitness.

Complexity conundrum: Commerzbank and Capco’s complexity “coincidence”!

“Complexity increases cost and decreases flexibility — often in unforeseen ways — and also tends to decrease stability,”….

“If you run IT, those are three of your most important KPIs.”

So says Peter Leukert, CIO of Commerzbank, one of the largest banks in Germany. Nice one Peter!

“Commerzbank has already seen some eye-opening results, one, a counterintuitive indicator about the need for master data management tools”

Inviting meltdown: Preserving the Status Quo with Artifice and Lies Leads to Systemic Collapse

These few words refer to the “economic domain” and, in particular, the sad state of the Euro. However, what I wanted to highlight (perhaps reiterate would be a better word) is the universality of complex systems. Hence the ability for us to learn lessons in economics from biology, politics from forestry management, etc.

But these are lessons that each and every business owner or wannabe business “leader” would do well to understand and apply NOW and NEVER FORGET! This isn’t new news or new wisdom and if you don’t believe me, contemplate this, from a few centuries ago:

“…in its beginning it is easy to cure, but hard to recognise; whereas, after a time, not having been detected and treated at the first, it becomes easy to recognise but impossible to cure”

– Niccolo Machiavelli

Can You Fix That? [Forbes]: not without looking to the future…

…but I would prefer to use some fancy language and glossy brochure about why we think you should trust us – with absolutely NO foundation – whilst we are creating the illusion that, in some way, we can master the mechanism (that is in no way related to a “Ponzi scheme”) that converts other people’s efforts into their survival(ish) and your wealth. The alternative is, to demonstrate ALL that is accredited with defining “intelligence” in the prevailing business culture:

Why is the track record of corporate management so bad at fixing problem businesses? Largely because most of their time is spent tyring to extend the past, rather than create a business which can thrive in the future.

via Can You Fix That? – Filene’s, Sym’s, Sears, Home Depot, WalMart – Forbes.

I’ll SELL a vision of the future that CANNOT be created by a flawed model, but, that you will BUY- into based upon, performance NOW – or over a period that justifies the original PURPOSE…the longer the time-frame, intuitively, the more credible, or appealing, the proposition!

After all, it’s easier to deal in terms that people understand rather than “burden” them with the [inconvenient] truth. Apparently!?