Embracing complexity and innovation.
The articles and publications below are part of an award-winning collection of work. David was one of the first people to successfully link the governance of risk-taking to better corporate performance. The concepts reviewed below will change the way you think about governance, risk, innovation, and the pursuit of value. Scroll down to review the full library.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The Governance of Risk
The Governance of Value(s)
Finding the Commons to Govern
An introduction to the special issue of the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions on Risk Governance.
An article in the special issue of the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions on Risk Governance.
Rather than reviewing reports on successes and failures - what read and react boards do - the next step for a board needs to be identification of the commons among the elements that drive success.
8 Min Read
Are Board Risk Committees Becoming a Fiduciary Expectation?
Rapidly Evolving Risk Landscape is a Growing Governance Challenge, Say Directors
Executives Speak Out on Corporate Governance
14 Min Read
5 Min Read
15 Min Read
An article in the Conference Board of Canada's Risk Watch on the increasing expectation from investors that boards establish formal risk committees.
As political and economic interactions become more complex, and as disruptive technologies and processes make innovation cycles massively shorter, boards of directors are paying more attention to risk.
An article from Forbes in which the author speaks with two highly influential former executives about the importance of corporate governance and using the framework outlined in Governance Rimagined.
30 Min Read
5 Min Read
Moneyball Corporate Governance
An article on the parallels between the well-known Moneyball story and proper risk governance structures. How to create value by altering the possible outcomes for your organization or investment portfolio.
9 Min Read
Better than ESG
Governance is a measure of trustworthiness; more broadly, it reflects the respect that companies have for their owners and other providers of critical capital. It's much broader than the G that populates ESG ratings. In fact, ESG is more accurately described as a subset of what constitutes governance, not vice versa.
6 Min Read
The Dark Triad: Master of Externalities
What happens when charm, cunning, and a lack of conscience collide in a single personality? The Dark Triad—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—represents a trio of traits that challenge the foundations of trust and cooperation... and destroy value.
6 Min Read
RISK-TAKING AND VALUE CREATION
Reshaping the Distribution of Outcomes, Not Just Modeling Them
Ultimately, the work of risk managers is about preserving and enhancing the ability of organizations to create value. This requires a change of mindset.
9 Min Read
Using The Value Equation To Exchange Cash Flows And Risk For Better Outcomes
Learn how to apply the Value Equation in equity valuation, how equity cash flows are similar to mortgage-backed-security cash flows, and how risk expectations can distort portfolio performance.
Achieving Purpose Through Innovation
This article appeared in Strategic Finance. Defining and achieving corporate purpose is a major challenge for today’s executive teams and their boards. Can companies create long-term sustainable value by managing risk and thereby realizing competitive advantage? How can companies best overcome the obstacles?
10 Min Read
10 Min Read
Alien Risk: Governing What Your Mind Cannot See
Are there critical risks that our brains are unable to see? Is there a solution?
8 Min Read
GOVERNING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER EMERGING SYSTEMS
The Most Interesting Debate in Corporate Governance is Happening in Real Time
The most interesting debate in corporate governance is not happening in the boardroom or between activist owners and boards. Rather, it’s happening all across a field of public (aka “permissionless”) blockchains.
Trustless or Trusted — The Inevitable Direction of Blockchain Governance
Skepticism over centralized authority, especially following the near-collapse of the global financial system in 2008, led to the development of “trustless” networks. One example is the blockchain behind Bitcoin.
5 Min Read
5 Min Read
Driving Digital Governance Excellence
The digital era has ushered in a new set of risks and opportunities that require an innovative response. To navigate these challenges successfully, organizations must adopt a forward-looking manner in their governance practices, anticipating risks and preparing for them before they materialize.
6 Min Read
Cyber Risk Governance: A Responsibility for All Boards of Directors
Amid growing demand for accountability and assurance that data, trade secrets, and infrastructure are secure from cyberattacks, boards of directors often find themselves without clear guidance on their responsibilities as governors.
5 Min Read
Aligning Compensation Systems with Risk Management Objectives
An exploration of the impact that poorly framed incentive structures can have on the value of organizations.
33 Min Read
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK
Governing the Link Between Pay, Performance, and Risk
As awareness of the link between incentives and employee behavior becomes more apparent, boards of directors have a responsibility to ensure that the proper risk-taking culture is being stimulated and not counteracted by the design of executive and employee incentive compensation plans that unintentionally encourage negative behaviors.
5 Min Read
The Human Reaction to Risk and Opportunity
An exploration of the impact that human perceptions and reactions to risk have on value.
27 Min Read
The Feed-Forward Effect: How Trust and Fairness Shape Capital Allocation
The mechanisms that govern capital allocation – whether political, intellectual, human, or financial – are under greater scrutiny than ever before. At the heart of these mechanisms lies a concept that is both intuitive and underexplored: the feed-forward effect.
7 Min Read
Nested Freedom: The Surprising and Complex Intersection of Risk, Perceptions, and Value Creation
Trust: the Hidden Value Creator
This paper is about helping boards of directors and senior executives make better decisions in highly turbulent times when multiple critical, formerly trustworthy elements in our world are all in motion.
Trust is one of the most under-appreciated yet indispensable forces shaping our lives. It is the quiet cornerstone of relationships, the unseen driver of organizational success, and the invisible thread that binds us together.
28 Min Read
4 Min Read
Congress is Broken – Does the Solution Come from Random Numbers?
An article discussing the power of random numbers in ridding the U.S. election system of gerrymandering.
10 Min Read
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND PUBLIC POLICY
Can Random Numbers Save American Democracy?
In a political landscape where trust in Congress hovers at historic lows, why would politically savvy people push for further gerrymandering, and what might be a revolutionary way to stop them?
Freedom, Liberty, and the Revolutionary Role of Unconcealment
Understanding how humans and societies reinvent themselves under pressure is a key theme of my writings. The role that “truth” plays is central. Truth is the result of a process of revealing.
6 Min Read
5 Min Read
Liberty and our Nested Freedom
An article that introduces the concept of Nested Freedom by discussing the boundaries of our personal freedom as determined by our complex social interactions and the necessity of re-thinking the meaning of liberty to ensure our ability to be free.
Externalities: The Bugaboo of Freedom
Belonging and Division: The Power of In-Groups and Out-Groups to Shape Our World
Freedom is celebrated as the cornerstone of progress and individual fulfillment. Yet, no individual operates fully independent of others who also have the freedom to act. That makes it increasingly evident that freedom can leave behind a trail of hidden or deferred costs.
Throughout human history, the tension between belonging and division has shaped the trajectories of societies. We are wired to seek connection and to find our place within groups that affirm our values, beliefs, and identities, which influence our politics, our work life, and our personal relationships.
6 Min Read
6 Min Read
8 Min Read
The Fairness Doctrine: When Morality Trumps Rational Economics
An article that introduces the concept of Nested Freedom by discussing the boundaries of our personal freedom as determined by our complex social interactions and the necessity of re-thinking the meaning of liberty to ensure our ability to be free.
The Fragile Balance: Distinguishing Freedom from Liberty in a Time of Judicial Uncertainty
In the American consciousness, the words "freedom" and "liberty" are often used interchangeably, their meanings blurred by centuries of rhetoric and patriotic fervor. Yet, as we navigate an era of increasing political polarization and institutional fragility, it is imperative to draw a clear distinction between these two concepts.
Interweaving Governance and Existence: The Synergy of "Governance Reimagined" and "God's Portfolio"
In the realm of literature that explores the intricate dance between individual agency and collective governance, "Governance Reimagined" and "God's Portfolio" emerge as complementary texts that delve into the essence of human interaction within larger systems.
4 Min Read
3 Min Read
6 Min Read
Risk Management is Freedom
Many people in risk management are defensive about risk, or they fear it. I seek to give organizations a better understanding of risk so they can handle it confidently and better achieve their goals.
6 Min Read
RISK MANAGEMENT
Business Line Advocacy - The Evolution of Risk Management
The Blind Spots of Risk Management
An article on the evolution of risk managers towards aiding in the creation of value.
An article in the special issue of the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions about potential failures in the governance of risk.
4 Min Read
10 Min Read
An Introduction to Enterprise Risk Management
An article on the importance of changing enterprise risk management from a focus on the downside to inclusion of the pursuit of gain.
Risk Management as Added Value
An article on the way in which effective risk management can add value to organization.
Accounting for the Cost of Risk Management
An editorial on the potential cost of risk management on innovation.
10 Min Read
11 Min Read
4 Min Read
Divide and Conquer
An article about the conflicts a Chief Risk Officer faces when engaging in both oversight and advocacy.
Risk Management in Financial Service Companies
The Future of Risk Management
A summary of a panel discussion featuring David R. Koenig, Jean Hinrichs, Charles Goldenberg, and Bob Mark. The panel was moderated by Gaurav Kapoor of Metric Stream.
With David X Martin, we discuss how boards and organizations can foster a positive embrace of risk-taking through integrating risk like other costs, resiliency planning, forward-facing techniques, and better board engagement.
14 Min Read
11 Min Read
4 Min Read
Embracing complexity and innovation.
The articles and publications below are part of an award-winning collection of work. David was one of the first people to successfully link the governance of risk-taking to better corporate performance. The concepts reviewed below will change the way you think about governance, risk, innovation, and the pursuit of value. Scroll down to review the full library.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The Governance of Risk
The Governance of Value(s)
Finding the Commons to Govern
An introduction to the special issue of the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions on Risk Governance.
An article in the special issue of the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions on Risk Governance.
Rather than reviewing reports on successes and failures - what read and react boards do - the next step for a board needs to be identification of the commons among the elements that drive success.
8 Min Read
Are Board Risk Committees Becoming a Fiduciary Expectation?
Rapidly Evolving Risk Landscape is a Growing Governance Challenge, Say Directors
Executives Speak Out on Corporate Governance
14 Min Read
5 Min Read
15 Min Read
An article in the Conference Board of Canada's Risk Watch on the increasing expectation from investors that boards establish formal risk committees.
As political and economic interactions become more complex, and as disruptive technologies and processes make innovation cycles massively shorter, boards of directors are paying more attention to risk.
An article from Forbes in which the author speaks with two highly influential former executives about the importance of corporate governance and using the framework outlined in Governance Rimagined.
30 Min Read
5 Min Read
Moneyball Corporate Governance
An article on the parallels between the well-known Moneyball story and proper risk governance structures. How to create value by altering the possible outcomes for your organization or investment portfolio.
9 Min Read
Better than ESG
Governance is a measure of trustworthiness; more broadly, it reflects the respect that companies have for their owners and other providers of critical capital. It's much broader than the G that populates ESG ratings. In fact, ESG is more accurately described as a subset of what constitutes governance, not vice versa.
6 Min Read
The Dark Triad: Master of Externalities
What happens when charm, cunning, and a lack of conscience collide in a single personality? The Dark Triad—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—represents a trio of traits that challenge the foundations of trust and cooperation... and destroy value.
6 Min Read
RISK-TAKING AND VALUE CREATION
Reshaping the Distribution of Outcomes, Not Just Modeling Them
Ultimately, the work of risk managers is about preserving and enhancing the ability of organizations to create value. This requires a change of mindset.
9 Min Read
Using The Value Equation To Exchange Cash Flows And Risk For Better Outcomes
Learn how to apply the Value Equation in equity valuation, how equity cash flows are similar to mortgage-backed-security cash flows, and how risk expectations can distort portfolio performance.
Achieving Purpose Through Innovation
This article appeared in Strategic Finance. Defining and achieving corporate purpose is a major challenge for today’s executive teams and their boards. Can companies create long-term sustainable value by managing risk and thereby realizing competitive advantage? How can companies best overcome the obstacles?
10 Min Read
10 Min Read
Alien Risk: Governing What Your Mind Cannot See
Are there critical risks that our brains are unable to see? Is there a solution?
8 Min Read
GOVERNING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER EMERGING SYSTEMS
The Most Interesting Debate in Corporate Governance is Happening in Real Time
The most interesting debate in corporate governance is not happening in the boardroom or between activist owners and boards. Rather, it’s happening all across a field of public (aka “permissionless”) blockchains.
Trustless or Trusted — The Inevitable Direction of Blockchain Governance
Skepticism over centralized authority, especially following the near-collapse of the global financial system in 2008, led to the development of “trustless” networks. One example is the blockchain behind Bitcoin.
5 Min Read
5 Min Read
Driving Digital Governance Excellence
The digital era has ushered in a new set of risks and opportunities that require an innovative response. To navigate these challenges successfully, organizations must adopt a forward-looking manner in their governance practices, anticipating risks and preparing for them before they materialize.
6 Min Read
Cyber Risk Governance: A Responsibility for All Boards of Directors
Amid growing demand for accountability and assurance that data, trade secrets, and infrastructure are secure from cyberattacks, boards of directors often find themselves without clear guidance on their responsibilities as governors.
5 Min Read
Aligning Compensation Systems with Risk Management Objectives
An exploration of the impact that poorly framed incentive structures can have on the value of organizations.
33 Min Read
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RISK
Governing the Link Between Pay, Performance, and Risk
As awareness of the link between incentives and employee behavior becomes more apparent, boards of directors have a responsibility to ensure that the proper risk-taking culture is being stimulated and not counteracted by the design of executive and employee incentive compensation plans that unintentionally encourage negative behaviors.
5 Min Read
The Human Reaction to Risk and Opportunity
An exploration of the impact that human perceptions and reactions to risk have on value.
27 Min Read
The Feed-Forward Effect: How Trust and Fairness Shape Capital Allocation
The mechanisms that govern capital allocation – whether political, intellectual, human, or financial – are under greater scrutiny than ever before. At the heart of these mechanisms lies a concept that is both intuitive and underexplored: the feed-forward effect.
7 Min Read
Nested Freedom: The Surprising and Complex Intersection of Risk, Perceptions, and Value Creation
Trust: the Hidden Value Creator
This paper is about helping boards of directors and senior executives make better decisions in highly turbulent times when multiple critical, formerly trustworthy elements in our world are all in motion.
Trust is one of the most under-appreciated yet indispensable forces shaping our lives. It is the quiet cornerstone of relationships, the unseen driver of organizational success, and the invisible thread that binds us together.
28 Min Read
4 Min Read
Congress is Broken – Does the Solution Come from Random Numbers?
An article discussing the power of random numbers in ridding the U.S. election system of gerrymandering.
10 Min Read
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND PUBLIC POLICY
Can Random Numbers Save American Democracy?
In a political landscape where trust in Congress hovers at historic lows, why would politically savvy people push for further gerrymandering, and what might be a revolutionary way to stop them?
Freedom, Liberty, and the Revolutionary Role of Unconcealment
Understanding how humans and societies reinvent themselves under pressure is a key theme of my writings. The role that “truth” plays is central. Truth is the result of a process of revealing.
6 Min Read
5 Min Read
Liberty and our Nested Freedom
An article that introduces the concept of Nested Freedom by discussing the boundaries of our personal freedom as determined by our complex social interactions and the necessity of re-thinking the meaning of liberty to ensure our ability to be free.
Externalities: The Bugaboo of Freedom
Belonging and Division: The Power of In-Groups and Out-Groups to Shape Our World
Freedom is celebrated as the cornerstone of progress and individual fulfillment. Yet, no individual operates fully independent of others who also have the freedom to act. That makes it increasingly evident that freedom can leave behind a trail of hidden or deferred costs.
Throughout human history, the tension between belonging and division has shaped the trajectories of societies. We are wired to seek connection and to find our place within groups that affirm our values, beliefs, and identities, which influence our politics, our work life, and our personal relationships.
6 Min Read
6 Min Read
8 Min Read
The Fairness Doctrine: When Morality Trumps Rational Economics
An article that introduces the concept of Nested Freedom by discussing the boundaries of our personal freedom as determined by our complex social interactions and the necessity of re-thinking the meaning of liberty to ensure our ability to be free.
The Fragile Balance: Distinguishing Freedom from Liberty in a Time of Judicial Uncertainty
In the American consciousness, the words "freedom" and "liberty" are often used interchangeably, their meanings blurred by centuries of rhetoric and patriotic fervor. Yet, as we navigate an era of increasing political polarization and institutional fragility, it is imperative to draw a clear distinction between these two concepts.
Interweaving Governance and Existence: The Synergy of "Governance Reimagined" and "God's Portfolio"
In the realm of literature that explores the intricate dance between individual agency and collective governance, "Governance Reimagined" and "God's Portfolio" emerge as complementary texts that delve into the essence of human interaction within larger systems.
4 Min Read
3 Min Read
6 Min Read
Risk Management is Freedom
Many people in risk management are defensive about risk, or they fear it. I seek to give organizations a better understanding of risk so they can handle it confidently and better achieve their goals.
6 Min Read
RISK MANAGEMENT
Business Line Advocacy - The Evolution of Risk Management
The Blind Spots of Risk Management
An article on the evolution of risk managers towards aiding in the creation of value.
An article in the special issue of the Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions about potential failures in the governance of risk.
4 Min Read
10 Min Read
An Introduction to Enterprise Risk Management
An article on the importance of changing enterprise risk management from a focus on the downside to inclusion of the pursuit of gain.
Risk Management as Added Value
An article on the way in which effective risk management can add value to organization.
Accounting for the Cost of Risk Management
An editorial on the potential cost of risk management on innovation.
10 Min Read
11 Min Read
4 Min Read
Divide and Conquer
An article about the conflicts a Chief Risk Officer faces when engaging in both oversight and advocacy.
Risk Management in Financial Service Companies
The Future of Risk Management
A summary of a panel discussion featuring David R. Koenig, Jean Hinrichs, Charles Goldenberg, and Bob Mark. The panel was moderated by Gaurav Kapoor of Metric Stream.
With David X Martin, we discuss how boards and organizations can foster a positive embrace of risk-taking through integrating risk like other costs, resiliency planning, forward-facing techniques, and better board engagement.
14 Min Read
11 Min Read
4 Min Read