Navigating the Three Languages of Business: Legal, Business, and Data (IT) Competences

In the complex and rapidly changing business landscape, professionals must navigate three key competences or 'languages': Legal, Business, and Data. This article explores these vital areas, illustrating how they interact and emphasizing the importance of fluency in today's competitive environment.

Legal Competence:

Legal competence refers to understanding compliance, regulations, and ethical considerations within the business environment. This area, often considered vague and abstract, deals with human-readable information essential for protecting an organization by ensuring adherence to legal norms. Legal competence is situated far on the left of the spectrum, somewhat detached from other competencies, but it's vital for avoiding non-compliance that could lead to fines or reputational damage.

Business Competence:

In the center of the spectrum, business competence encompasses core functions and processes such as HR, Sales, Accounting, and strategic planning. This area is structured and formalized, detailing every aspect of regular operations. Unlike legal competence, business competence provides specific, minute-to-minute guidelines standardized across various industries. Understanding this area enables organizations to operate efficiently and align resources and efforts towards strategic goals.

Data (IT) Competence:

On the far right, data competence centers around technological aspects like IT, software, algorithms, and AI. This competence takes formalized business outputs and translates them into machine-readable formats, enhancing efficiency and reportability. The data area builds a bridge to technological innovation, but there's no direct connection to legal competence, illustrating the need to navigate through the business territory.

Understanding and Integration:

Understanding these three competences is like speaking three different languages, each one specialized but interconnected and complementary.

• Legal Specialists: They should think about how regulations affect business processes, not merely implementing local regulations. Understanding how to protect or impact business through legal means is crucial.

• Business Specialists: These professionals should be aware of the legal environment and compliance requirements. To develop into the data area, they might consider formalizing and standardizing business processes, capturing data points, and understanding reuse opportunities.

• Data (IT) Specialists: They should understand real business needs, thinking about scaling and avoiding quick fixes. Learning about processes and relevant data is vital, along with asking business-relevant questions.

Bridging the Gaps:

• For Leadership: Running a company requires a leader who speaks all three languages or at least a combination of experts who bridge legal-business and business-data areas.

• Lost in Translation & Conflicts: Common misunderstandings and conflicts can arise in organizations due to the different "languages" spoken. Questioning what language a colleague speaks and seeking translators between languages can foster better communication and avoid conflicts.

Conclusion:

Whether it's the vague legal requirements, the structured business processes, or the technically intricate data or IT systems, understanding these competences is vital in a complex and dynamic business world. The metaphor of languages underscores the importance of multifaceted knowledge and adaptability. By recognizing the positioning of these competences and how to bridge them, professionals can foster innovation, efficiency, and growth, ensuring their organizations thrive in today's rapidly changing business landscape.