Risk and Billing: The Goalkeepers

Why should risk managers and billing managers be allies? I'll tell you why. They are both goalkeepers in the metaphorical world cup of electronic communications.

Think about it. The goalkeeper is the last line of defence for his or her team. When all else goes wrong, who is supposed to be there, diving full length to make the save? The goalkeeper. The goalie does not occupy a position of glory; they mind their own net and don't score the goals. Goalkeepers are different. Goalkeepers are eccentric. You don't have to be mad to play in goal, but it helps. The same applies to working in billing or risk management.

Who's job is it to shout orders and get the defence organized? The goalkeeper's. Why is it his job? Because it isn't anyone else's job. Who is in a unique position to see what is going wrong with the way the team plays? The goalie. Who needs to stay alert every moment and anticipate every threat? The goalkeeper. Who has a 'perfect' game if they never touch the ball? The goalie. And when it all goes horribly wrong, who has to pick the ball out of the back of the net, often after (unfairly) taking the blame for it being there? The goalkeeper. Both billing managers and risk managers will understand the point I am making; to play their part for the team, some players need a mentality that sets them apart.

If communication providers were football teams, then billing managers and risk managers would play in goal. I could make more straightforward arguments for why risk managers should be best of pals with billing managers. For example, many of the worst risks taken by communication providers involve launching products which cannot be billed properly. In addition, the Billing department often suffers the symptoms when operational risks have not been managed elsewhere in the business, and the role it plays in managing relationships with customers gives billing a special importance in terms of both business reputation and regulatory compliance. I could go on... but I did already, at my talkRA blog and in the article on page 14 of BillingOSS magazine.

The philosopher Camus said "all I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football". He was a goalkeeper. Need I write more?