Pattern Recognition Beyond AI

A series on information processing patterns, at the level of corporations and people. Based on scientific systems theory, not IT. Welcome.

Some of you may already have noticed: I'm the mind behind 'The Organizational Personality (TOP)' method.

A corporation as a personality, what's the point?

The story began in 2015.

After nearly seventeen years in a global corporation, I was taking things more lightly and casually looking around when something caught my eye:

A newspaper article about system theory.

Rigorous academic personality psychology.

A highly sophisticated theory, known to be demanding, a real rabbit hole.

My analytical, holistic brain had only one reaction:

I want this. I need this.

And what began with intellectual curiosity and the sheer joy of thinking slowly evolved into something more practical: A robust method for Governance professionals.

At its core lies a word that has become famous in the age of AI:

Pattern recognition

But not just any patterns.

Information processing patterns.

The characteristic patterns how corporations process information.

Through that lens, a great deal about an organization becomes visible, allowing risks to be assessed & addressed accordingly.

So I'm starting a LinkedIn series talking about these patterns.

If this sparks your curiosity, come along.

Dear Board Audit Committees, what keeps you awake at night?

Three core questions for Board Audit Committees in dialogue with their Internal Audit Head.

First:

Foresight

Auditing the past and present is pretty straightforward. Beyond Hindsight, is your Internal Audit department capable of providing predictive, forward-looking assurance?

Second:

Human Factors

Traditionally, Audit is not focusing on behavioral and cultural risks. Assuming they have to start auditing culture, does your Internal Audit has a plan (and theory-based approaches) to do so?

Third:

Strategic Anchor Point

Too bad if audit reports are buried & forgotten after completion of the audit, one after another. If the board wants to concentrate resources for maximum impact ... can Internal Audit name the three most critical anchor points with enterprise-wide impact, based on aggregated audit insights?

Bonus question, if Internal Audit's answer is 3 times yes:

What substantiates their answer?

Looking forward to the exchange.

Internal Audit Mindset Shifts

Internal Audit Teams typically include IT specialists, data scientists, and others. Yet finance graduates with an Accounting focus often dominate.

Nothing wrong with that. But does this shape the lens on risks and findings?

Some fresh ideas about Internal Audit's optimal mindset:

First: Prosocial Influence

It's reasonable to attribute a high power motive to auditors, understood as the drive for influence and self-assertion. This desire for influence should be exercised in a prosocial way: integrative, reflective, and open to learning.

Second: Colours & Nuances

Auditors excel at analytical, detail-oriented thinking. Audit should move beyond black-and-white thinking, consider colours and nuances, and conduct its work with a forward-looking, holistic, and enterprise-wide perspective.

Third: Intellectual Openness

Internal Audit emphasizes continuous professional education. I expect our profession to actively embrace disciplines such as psychology, human factors, and systems science. We must be able to factor in behavioral risks as well.

Looking forward to the exchange.