Trekking Through Compliance

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Mark of Gideon, which aired on January 17, 1969, and occurred on Star Date 5423.4

In an attempt to establish diplomatic relations with planet Gideon, Kirk beams down to the sensor-shielded planet using coordinates supplied by Gideon ambassador Hodin. When Kirk materializes, he finds himself still on the transporter pad aboard the Enterprise. To his great surprise, he appears to be completely alone, and there is no sign of the crew. After noticing a bruise on his arm, Kirk encounters a girl named Odona.

Kirk begins to suspect that something is very wrong. Hodin explains that the germ-free atmosphere and an increasingly long life span on Gideon have created a vast overpopulation problem and hopes to bring it under control by introducing disease. When Kirk then asks Hodin why the people of Gideon have not practiced birth control, Hodin replies that the people of Gideon believe life is sacred and that the love of life is the greatest gift and that they, therefore, cannot interfere with the creation of life.

By this time, Spock has discovered that the two sets of coordinates he has been provided do not match. After Admiral Fitzgerald continues to refuse to let Spock beam down, Spock disobeys orders and beams down to the first set of coordinates. He locates Kirkhe, and Kirk beams up with Odona to the real Enterprise. McCoy heals Odona, and she is beamed back to Gideon, where her blood can now serve as the source of Vegan choriomeningitis for her people.

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     Why is compliance needed at the Board?

2.     How do you promote middle management to senior management?

3.     What is your triage protocol?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Let That Be Your Last Battlefield which aired on January 10, 1969, and occurred on Star Date 5730.0

On its way to decontaminate the planet Arianis, the Enterprise intercepts a shuttlecraft stolen from Starbase 4 together with its pilot. The pilot is an alien who is solid white on his right side and solid black on his left. His name is Lokai, and he claims to be a political refugee from Cheron. Shortly thereafter, another alien is deposited on the bridge of the Enterprise by a spaceship just before it disintegrates. The new alien identifies himself as Bele, a police officer from Cheron who has been tracking Lokai for over 50,000 years. Bele is black on the right and white on the left and is outraged when Kirk sees no difference in them. Bele considers his coloration superior to Lokai and others "his kind." Lokai and Bele claim to be in the right, but Kirk stays above the argument, offering to drop them off at a Starbase.

Bele attempts to force the Enterprise to Charon but returns control to Kirk when he threatens to self-destruct the Enterprise. After the Enterprise has decontaminated Arianis, Bele deactivates the destruct mode and forces the Enterprise to Cheron. Here, Bele and Lokai discover that all life there has been destroyed by years of racially-motivated fighting. Driven mad by the sight, Lokai and Bele both beam down to the surface, where they will continue to fight each other until one or both are dead.

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     Why is language translation so important for compliance?

2.     What is the role of compliance in creating a safe workspace?

3.     Why should your organization only deal with ethical businesses?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Whom Gods Destroy which aired on January 3, 1969 and occurred on Star Date 5718.3

Kirk and Spock are on a medical mission to deliver sanity saving drugs to an institute for the incorrigibly criminally insane. An inmate is a former commander. He  is also a homicidal, master-strategist. As a former Starship commander, he takes over the asylum, and then turns his attention on taking over the Enterprise. Can Kirk and Spock defeat him? How can they defeat him?

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     Do you have audit rights and do you exercise them?

2.     High risk does not mean you cannot move forward, it means you must have a robust risk management strategy.

3.     Do you go with facts or your gut in decision making?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Elaan of Troyius, which aired on December 20, 1968, and occurred on Star Date 4373.5

Kirk and crew are playing taxi to Elaan from Elas and an ambassador from Troyius. (She is one of the greatest spoiled brat characters in all of TOS.) Their mission: get everyone safely from point A to point B. Sounds easy, right? Now add in Elaan’s near-barbarism, a bit of sabotage, and a hostile Klingon ship. Can Kirk civilize Elaan, evade the Klingons, and keep the Enterprise from blowing up?

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     Do you perform continuous monitoring of your 3rd parties?

2.     How deep does your 3rd party investigation go?

3.     How culturally astute is your compliance regime?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Empath, which aired on December 6, 1968, and occurred on Star Date 5121.5

In this episode, the Vions attempt to see if a planet of empaths is worth saving by forcing one of their people to choose between her life or an Enterprise crew landing party.

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     What is a gap analysis?

2.     Who should be on your investigation team?

3.     What is the Board of Directors’ role in hiring?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Wink of an Eye which aired on November 29, 1968, and occurred on Star Date 5710.5

While exploring an outer quadrant of the Galaxy, the Enterprise receives a distress call from the planet Scalos. However, a landing party cannot locate the transmission's source. Kirk thinks he detects the buzzing of insects, but the tricorder does not register them. Queer goings-on follows when Compton disappears right in front of McCoy.

After their return to the Enterprise, malfunctions occur aboard the ship, which cannot be explained. Kirk correctly concludes that aliens have been beamed aboard. Spock detects an alien machine being installed into the environmental control, but when Spock attempts to disconnect the machine, he is prevented by a force field. Kirk then disappears.

Kirk makes a tape for Spock in which he explains all this. McCoy discovers the tape, and Spock reads it by greatly slowing it down. Spock then speeds himself up, and the Scalosians are returned to their planet to live out the rest of their lives, recognizing that the Federation will not permit any more Starships to enter the area.

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     What questions should your Board be asking?

2.     As CCO, who do you report to?

3.     How tone at the top impacts your entire organization.

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Plato's Stepchildren which aired on November 12, 1968 and occurred on Star Date 5784.0

This is one of the most difficult episodes of TOS to watch. It involves a planet of immortal mind-control beings who take pleasure through the torment of others with their psychokinetic powers. They have their own personal plaything (read: slave) who has endured their torment until the Enterprise arrives. The beings then turn on the landing crew. In one of the most difficult scenes in all of TOS they force Kirk to kiss Uhuru. While it is celebrated as the first interracial kiss on television, it is in reality a mind rape of both. Kirk eventually overcomes their power.

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

2.     How do you document an internal control override?

3.     What happens when senior management is in on the illegal conduct?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Tholian which aired on November 15, 1968 and occurred on Star Date 3842.3.

When the Enterprise attempts to ascertain the fate of the U.S.S. Defiant which vanished 3 weeks ago and Spock reports strange sensor readings. They visually detect the Defiant, but sensors indicate it is not there. A landing party beams aboard and when McCoy tries to touch one of the dead crew members, his hand passes right through him, revealing that the Defiant is starting to disintegrate. They all beam back save Captain Kirk.

Kirk and the ship are trapped in a parallel universe by the weakening of the surrounding fabric of space. The appearance of two hostile Tholian ships disrupts the spatial interphase which would have allowed Kirk to reenter his own universe. Spock convinces the Tholians to wait until the interphase occurs, but the Enterprise is unable to beam Kirk aboard. The Tholian then fire and damage the Enterprise.

In her cabin, Uhura sees a vision of Captain Kirk and reports to McCoy that he is alive. McCoy believes Uhura is going mad and confines her to sickbay. Scott then sees the same vision, and rushes to the bridge, where everyone, including Spock, sees it as well. The Enterprise is able to hold Kirk in the transporter beam at the next interphase and then escape from the completed Tholian web by using ship's power to disrupt space-time.

Compliance Takeaways:

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode   For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky which aired on November 1, 1968, Star Date Unknown.

McCoy calls Kirk to sickbay and informs him that the ship's Chief Medical Officer (himself) has contracted an incurable fatal disease called xenopolycythemia and has only one year to live. However, McCoy assures Kirk that he will still be able to do his job until the end.

Suddenly, the Enterprise is attacked and diverts and determines their point of origin, an asteroid 200 km in diameter, which is actually a nuclear-powered spaceship on a collision course with planet Daran V. The inhabitants do not know that they are on a spaceship, except for one old man who had climbed a mountain when he was young and intones "For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky." After uttering this, the oracle punishes the old man with death by means of a subcutaneous "instrument of obedience."

They are able to put the ship back on course. They also discover databanks of the Fabrini containing a great deal of medical knowledge, including the cure for McCoy's xenopolycythemia. 

Compliance Takeaways:

1.     How do you manage?

2.     Executives having skin in compliance.

3.     As a compliance professional, do you have empathy?

Resources

Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein

MissionLogPodcast.com

Memory Alpha

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In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode Day of the Dove which aired on November 1, 1968, Star Date Unknown.

Compliance Takeaways:

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