A lot is happening in the world right now. The difference between chaos and confidence is a clear map. Here’s how we can help.
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Signal Archives
Less
Less is more. This is particularly relevant for board and executive comms. But equally relevant to many domains. Particularly technical domains. Here’s a quick thing to keep in your kitbag. If you ever find yourself reducing the font size in a slide deck or paper, or running a single idea over two pages it’s a […]
Institutionalised
During innovation surges like the one being driven by AI, institutions often fail to keep up – acting more like historians after the event than war correspondents reporting in real time. Another case of auditors bayonetting the wounded? It doesn’t have to be. Here’s why and what to do about it. A colleague, Tom (often […]
Get oriented before you paddle in
A bias for action can be helpful when the way forward is clear. But when things are in flux, sometimes the best course of action is to prepare and get your team oriented. My bias towards action was high this week. Every instinct told me to move fast. Like that moment when you activate the […]
TDA 3.0 is coming
I’ve taken three months out to reimagine the business—deeply, from first principles. The big insight is that less is more. Simplicity beats complexity.Focus beats clutter.Principles beat templates.Wayfinding beats gates. And noise, complexity and clutter are the enemy of strategy, clarity and execution. They don’t serve. They don’t scale. This isn’t just our theme for 2025 […]
We’re releasing our playbook. One principle at a time.
Our blog has a new name: Signals.Same voice. Same rhythm. Sharper intent. If you’ve followed our work for a while, you’ll know how we write—real-time thinking, field-tested insights, and sharp provocations shaped by what’s happening now. That’s not changing. What’s new is what we’re putting into it. We’re sharing the guiding principles we’ve used for […]
Innovation Profiles: Why some teams clash while others click
The X-Factor in Audit & Risk Teams that no one talks about If you’ve ever experienced tension with a boss or a team member—the kind where you just can’t seem to get on the same page—there’s a good chance this is the missing piece. I’ve seen this countless times in audit and risk teams, and I’m thankful to my […]
The $10,000 hour. Why AI prompt engineering is the skill of 2025 and how to get across it quickly.
Today’s breakthrough meeting What a great way to round out the weekend. I just finished a call with a client who hadn’t used AI large language models before, but had access to Microsoft CoPilot at work. The client has a herculean project that would take many teams at least 12 months to get done. A […]
Seven things you need to know about the new Internal Audit Standards
The 2024 changes to the IIA Standards are the biggest in a generation. Here’s seven things you really need to know to get in front.
Why the IIA’s mandatory Topical Requirements are a bad idea
There are already 223 mandatory requirements in the new internal audit standards. Topical Requirements add even more. Here’s what you need to know.