It's a great exercise, Matt. The thing I find troubling about the usual version of the "who comes first?" question is that the answer depends on the issue, and the day. On payday, labour law says your employees come first, period. (Try it and see how any other way of prioritizing duties turns out for you.) On the day your loan payment is due, your contract with the bank (and the courts, probably) says your first duty is to the bank. If your environmental practices are deficient, then environmental law says your first obligation is to fixing THAT. Of course, those issues are more operational issues are governance issues. But given how governance decisions affect operational ones, I think the point stands.
Bullseye. This is one of the reasons I'm so obsessed with the exercise. No matter what the circumstance - general discussion, a consequential decision, dreaming about possible futures - the perspectives shift and the ranking changes. No matter what, agreement is usually elusive. What really matters is that it's a way to engage in an important discussion, while getting everyone's perspective on the table in only 15 minutes.
It's a great exercise, Matt. The thing I find troubling about the usual version of the "who comes first?" question is that the answer depends on the issue, and the day. On payday, labour law says your employees come first, period. (Try it and see how any other way of prioritizing duties turns out for you.) On the day your loan payment is due, your contract with the bank (and the courts, probably) says your first duty is to the bank. If your environmental practices are deficient, then environmental law says your first obligation is to fixing THAT. Of course, those issues are more operational issues are governance issues. But given how governance decisions affect operational ones, I think the point stands.
Bullseye. This is one of the reasons I'm so obsessed with the exercise. No matter what the circumstance - general discussion, a consequential decision, dreaming about possible futures - the perspectives shift and the ranking changes. No matter what, agreement is usually elusive. What really matters is that it's a way to engage in an important discussion, while getting everyone's perspective on the table in only 15 minutes.
Also, I miss you! Thanks for listening, Chris.