When we consider compliance we often think of being compelled by regulation to follow an arbitrary set of rules that get in the way of achieving business outcomes. No wonder many companies only want to do the minimum. However, a more useful way of looking at compliance is as a game that we want to play and one that want to be good at.
As with all games they have rules. These rules do not inhibit playing the game they instead make it possible to play the game not just once but many times. That is what we want for our businesses. We want to act in such a way that we can continue to play the game over time for as long as we want to play. This requires a long-term perspective.
However, some prefer a short-term view and take short cuts, cheat, or otherwise hack the game. When they do this they find that no one wants to play with them anymore. Customers do not want to buy from them, suppliers do not want to sell to them and stakeholders do not want to invest in them either. They have ended the game for themselves and as a consequence ended their business or at least severely damaged it.
Don’t sacrifice your business by choosing actions that take you out of the game. Instead, learn how to become competent at playing the game well.