Security and Compliance as a Capability
Security and compliance aren’t brakes — they’re the steering. When designed as a capability, they let you go faster in the right direction.
Many wouldn’t think security and compliance belong in the same thread as business transformation — especially when technology and value are front of mind. Yet in every major transformation I’ve led — from energy to banking to professional services — that proved true. When controls are built as capabilities, not afterthoughts, they become the systems that enable speed, scale, and durability of value.
Too many programs treat security and compliance as the last gate before go-live. By then it’s late, expensive, and political — and often, value leaks before it even begins. McKinsey estimates that nearly half of transformation value is lost during the planning and target-setting phases. Embedding discipline early isn’t optional — it’s strategic. (McKinsey: Protecting Value from Day One)
The logic is simple: transformation moves fast, but only value that’s protected and repeatable endures. McKinsey found that companies embedding risk and compliance into transformation efforts reduced remediation costs by roughly 10% and defect rates by up to 50%. (McKinsey: Lessons from Banking — Improving Risk and Compliance to Accelerate Digital Transformation) That’s not avoiding cost — that’s accelerating value.
In the banking sector, McKinsey’s “The Case for Compliance as a Competitive Advantage” shows that organizations aligning compliance with strategy achieve stronger customer experience, higher productivity, and more resilient growth. The message: compliance done right isn’t a tax — it’s a lever.
Here’s how I build security and compliance into transformation so they accelerate progress instead of slowing it:
Start in the sponsor’s language. Talk margin, reputation, and delivery risk — not policy. Ask, “If this fails here, what lands on your desk?” It connects compliance to business exposure, not bureaucracy. McKinsey’s research shows that linking compliance to business strategy drives stronger performance and trust. (McKinsey: The Case for Compliance as a Competitive Advantage)
Design it in early. During solution design, run short readiness or threat reviews on the flows that matter — customer access, partner onboarding, or data handling. One page, three questions: What’s the risk? Who owns it? What’s the decision? McKinsey found that embedding risk and compliance in agile design cuts rework by up to 50%. (McKinsey: Lessons from Banking to Improve Risk and Compliance)
Align ownership across business and tech. Shared accountability keeps control practical. When a business lead and a technical lead both sign off on each key control, ownership stays real. McKinsey’s GRC research describes this as “shared responsibility for control” — a common trait of high-performing organizations.
Keep it live. Compliance data should move with the business — not sit in quarterly decks. I track three indicators in the same dashboards as operational metrics: onboarding time, privileged-access reviews, and time to patch. Deloitte’s research shows that when privacy and security metrics sit inside daily dashboards, organizations generate up to seven percentage points more enterprise value. (Deloitte: Optimizing Digital Ecosystems)
Keep governance in rhythm. Ten minutes weekly for live risks; one page monthly for trends and exceptions. McKinsey’s transformation benchmarks show that short, frequent review loops sustain momentum far better than quarterly gates.
Show enablement, not defense. Track what’s now possible: a regulated product cleared in half the time, a partner onboarded in days instead of months, an audit passed without drama. McKinsey and Deloitte both show that mature compliance functions correlate with faster launches and stronger brand trust. When compliance proves it creates options, belief follows.
In practice, this turns compliance from friction into flow — the structural layer that keeps transformation moving in the right direction long after go-live. When controls are part of the same rhythm as value realization, speed becomes sustainable and trust compounds.
Transformation ends when value becomes business as usual — and that happens when compliance is no longer a brake, but a basis. Treat security and compliance as a capability — designed in, co-owned, and continuously measured — and they stop slowing you down. They start making your speed sustainable.
Next insight: Realization — when change becomes ordinary enough to stop being called transformation.