Speaking at the 14th annual Wraps, Platforms & Masterfunds Conference in the Hunter Valley last week, Mr Williams said members of the financial industry should all be “very keen students of what’s happened in the media”.
Referring to the effect that online consumption has had on the newspaper business, Mr Williams said the media industry has been the “best example of the damage that hubris does in an existing business”.
“Existing businesses are very good at giving reasons as to why they are strong and better than everyone else: why they don’t need to be the first mover, and why they don’t need to take that risk,” he said.
“But the fact is, if you don’t develop an appetite for risk-taking, over time you fail,” Mr Williams warned.
Big financial institutions have “layers and layers” of risk protection that “insulate them from ever making decisions that reflect something that might be bold and reflect risk taking”, he said.
“They’re completely inoculated against risk,” Mr Williams said – adding that “innovation is absolutely allergic to bureaucracy”.
Furthermore, bureaucracy is “antithetical to clear thinking”, he said.
“Companies empower bureaucracy and empower middle management – who essentially are there to slow or stop [innovation],” Mr Williams said.
“The words used are ‘risk management’, ‘compliance’ – there are a whole range of words used. A lot of it’s not very clear thinking,” he said.
