Page 3 of 3

6. The crisis of 2008 was a crisis of values

And values are only restored through education. As we often say in class: «there are many bad people out there.» The role of risk management and corporate governance is to prevent those ill-intentioned individuals to contaminate whole organizations.

But the task is almost impossible unless we educate individuals with a value system from the beginning. The best tool against corruption is education.

7. Believe in your instincts

This is a very personal observation. Our mindset has changed in recent last decades and now we pay more attention to our instincts. It is not easy to identify a rogue executive or an ineffective leader individually.

But it is very visible when organizations are dysfunctional, and risks are not managed well. We have learned to speak out in the presence of overconfidence, arrogance and hubris. We can’t predict the future, but we have definitely become better at managing what the future will bring.

Arturo Bris is Professor of Finance at IMD in Lausanne. Since January 2014 he is also leading the world-renowned IMD World Competitiveness Center. His research and consulting activities focus on the international aspects of financial regulation, and in particular on the effects of bankruptcy, short sales, insider trading, and merger laws. He is passionate about global competitiveness, financial development and macroeconomics. His latest research identifies the relationship between income inequality, social mobility and competitiveness. He ranks among the top one hundred most-read finance academics in the world. He studied law and economics at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and received an MSc from CEMFI (Foundation of the Bank of Spain). He holds a PhD in Management from Insead.