Cultivating Opportunities

As we wind down for the year, I find myself looking ahead and wondering what's in store.

As leaders, we know there are many forces at work—often too many to deal with, and many outside our control.

But here's what I've been thinking:

What we experience is also the result of the opportunities we cultivate in the current year.

This insight came to me recently from working with someone I consider wise—a man now retired from a distinguished career as a physician and researcher, well known in his field. I call him the Great Gardener.

The Cultivation Principle

In a project I'm working on with him, he's demonstrated time and again the value of cultivating opportunities. He's shown me how important it is to cultivate opportunities much the same way we cultivate a garden—which, by the way, is one of his greatest passions.

His approach is simple but profound: whenever you see an interest, desire, a spark, or a possibility from someone who can contribute to your endeavour, you need to cultivate it. Even from people you might consider your "enemy" or "competitor."

We may not have control over what will bear fruit and what doesn't, but we do have control over preparing the soil to provide the greatest chance for something good to happen.

We also have control over the seeds we plant. The question for us is: Will we plant seeds of purpose, unity, and partnership? Or will we scatter seeds of chaos, discord, and resistance?

Cultivating at Work

In compliance, we also see this principle at work.

The organizations that thrive aren't just those with the best control frameworks—they're the ones that have cultivated trust with regulators, built genuine partnerships with business units, and developed the conditions for mission and compliance success.

They spend time cultivating the soil. 

When they need to find a way forward through complex challenges, these cultivated relationships and developed capabilities—not external forces—are what they lean on to move ahead.

Getting Ready for Spring

Even though winter is almost here and many aren't thinking of gardening, this is precisely the time for us to consider what opportunities to cultivate in the year ahead.

What vision needs casting? What sparks in your organization need fanning? What relationships need nurturing to create the probability for opportunities to grow?

In our field, we're experts at spotting threats and building defences. We excel at risk assessments, gap analyses, and control design. These capabilities are essential.

But what if our greatest competitive advantage lies not just in the problems we prevent, but in the possibilities we cultivate today?

We may not be able to control everything that happens to us, but we can choose where we invest our time, resources, and energy. 

This year, let's commit to balancing our portfolio: continue the essential work of managing risks, but also dedicate intentional effort to planting and cultivating opportunities.

Let's see what good things will grow.