Information as a Tool, and Safety as a Culture

LRN Corporation’s Ty Francis offers commentary on information as a tool and safety as a culture. This article originally appeared in Insight Jam, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI.

Companies can no longer afford to treat data governance, compliance, and culture as administrative afterthoughts. As workforces evolve, technologies disrupt, and regulatory demands intensify, organizations must move beyond static compliance frameworks toward strategic, data-driven risk management that fuels sustainable growth.

When data governance is elevated and employee culture measurement is prioritized, organizations gain the visibility to identify and mitigate risks faster than ever. Compliance stops being a checklist exercise and becomes a shared capability powered by insight, automation, and accountability. When quality data leads, organizations can monitor in real time, analyze behavioral patterns, and benchmark integrity across their enterprise.

Information Overload

The amount of information any business needs to operate is staggering. From small businesses to global leaders, how data is gathered and utilized is a key indicator of overall success and performance. Yet as businesses scale, legacy systems, fragmented tech stacks, and post-merger redundancies often slow responses and bury critical intelligence in silos. And when companies begin to store data on platforms that don’t directly communicate with one another, they risk losing time searching for the correct data points, hindering decision-making processes and leadership action. Strengthening governance begins with rebuilding the data foundation updating technology, aligning platforms, and integrating systems so insights flow freely. With the right tools, compliance stops reacting to risk and starts anticipating it.

In our 2025 Program Effectiveness Report, we found that organizations are still grappling with many of the same systemic challenges as in previous years, chief among them outdated internal systems (64%) and increasingly complex regulatory environments (59%). These barriers not only slow the modernization of ethics and compliance (E&C) programs but also limit their ability to shape culture and anticipate emerging risks. The report highlights a widening performance gap between high and medium impact programs, while high-impact programs are nearly twice as likely to use benchmarking data and automation to inform decisions, many others remain constrained by fragmented data and legacy technology. Addressing these limitations requires more than incremental fixes.

It calls for renewed investment in data governance, cross-platform integration, and benchmarking tools that allow compliance leaders to act on insights in real time. By modernizing their systems and aligning technology with cultural goals, organizations can ensure that compliance data becomes a source of strategic foresight rather than an administrative burden.

Empowering Compliance

The rise of artificial intelligence has revolutionized how industries approach problem-solving within a compliance model. As organizations grapple with growing volumes of data and documentation, many are turning to AI to manage and analyze information more efficiently. Among its most valuable strengths, AI excels at automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks that are often vulnerable to human error. AI systems can monitor regulatory updates in real time, flag inconsistencies, and even interpret new legal language as rules evolve. Yet LRN’s 2025 Global Study on E&C Program Maturity shows that more than a third of organizations still manage investigations in spreadsheets, and fewer than 30% use cross-functional teams. The gap isn’t technological, it’s cultural.

Additionally, AI automates labor-intensive tasks such as document review, audit logging, risk assessment, and transaction monitoring, reducing the likelihood of mistakes caused by human error. With natural language processing, AI systems can interpret new legal language to keep compliance protocols current as laws change. Many of these platforms include consolidated dashboards that deliver visual analytics enabling governance teams to quickly identify weaknesses, evaluate control effectiveness, and continuously monitor risk exposure. Equipped with these advanced tools, compliance teams gain faster access to actionable insights and can leverage data that might have otherwise remained untapped. When equipped with integrated data and predictive insight, compliance teams can focus less on chasing paperwork and more on shaping the culture that prevents issues before they occur.

Protecting Data

Over the past four years, the average number of weekly cyberattacks per organization has more than doubled, rising from 818 in the second quarter of 2021 to almost 2,000 during the same period this year. Cybersecurity has emerged as a significant and growing threat to operational stability as compliance has shifted from the back office to the strategic sphere. Breaches can cost a business thousands of dollars in updating operations and damage its reputation. For many companies, unclear guidelines surrounding accessing, storing, and collecting private information leave them vulnerable to cyberattacks.

It is not enough to view security as a technical challenge. Rather, approaching security as a shared cultural responsibility requires companies to instill proactive risk awareness throughout their workforce. As cyber threats grow in volume and sophistication, organizations turn to more innovative technologies that empower teams to build resilience from the inside out. Rather than relying solely on technical defenses, many are adopting solutions that focus on strengthening human awareness and behavior, protocols, and training surrounding data security. This proactive approach helps employees feel prepared and in control, empowering a security culture, rather than a checklist.

Phishing remains one of the most pervasive and effective tactics used by attackers. Organizations are implementing phishing simulations and training platforms to help employees recognize and respond to suspicious scenarios, such as LRN’s Catalyst Phishing. Tools like these offer libraries of realistic phishing templates based on current threats and adaptive training modules tailored to user behavior. Administrators can customize simulations, segment users into targeted groups, and access detailed reporting to measure campaign and individual performance. This kind of data-driven approach helps identify areas of vulnerability and foster a culture of shared responsibility regarding cybersecurity.

A Culture of Protection

Organizations that invest in data governance, leverage AI, and embed cybersecurity into everyday conduct build a foundation of trust that endures beyond any single regulation. These technologies enhance visibility and efficiency, but resilience depends on how leaders use insight to drive ethical behavior and accountability at every level.

 However, technology alone is not the answer. The true differentiator is leadership that uses these powerful insights to embed ethics into every decision and demand accountability at every level. Forward thinking and evolved Boards, regulators, and investors no longer accept routine, check-the-box compliance. They expect a culture of integrity backed by clear metrics and decisive action. Those organizations that recognize this shift and invest early in more innovative technology, deeper insights, and stronger ethical foundations will stay ahead of risk and gain a competitive edge, empowering trust and long-term success. Ultimately, the ability to leverage quality data and proactive governance will define which organizations thrive in a landscape of increasing complexity and scrutiny.