Categories: General
June 22, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Perfect is the Mortal Enemy of the Good: Why Minimum Viable Risk Practices are Perfect
Seasoned hiring managers and interviewers often listen carefully for an interviewee’s response that acts as a red flag waving “don’t hire this person!” For me, it’s a statement like this: “I’m a perfectionist,” or “My biggest weakness is that I...
Topics: General
May 11, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Spring Planting: Finding Inspiration to Spruce Up Your Risk Management Program
Every spring, I get an itch to spruce up my home and garden with colorful, cheerful plants. Similarly, risk leaders often feel inspired to do some spring cleaning and infuse their risk programs with new practices to make them brighter...
Topics: General
April 21, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Take a Hike! (around Your Risk Landscape)
“Seek to understand your context better. Things that are out of place in a context bear closer inspection.” – Karl E. Weick & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe, Managing the Unexpected Environmental, climate, and weather-related risks often occupy prominent positions on the risk...
Topics: General
April 14, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Humble Haiku’s Mighty Lessons for Risk Leaders
This Saturday is International Haiku Poetry Day, leading me to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned from this simple form of poetry—the humble haiku. If you’re wondering how this pint-sized poem has the potential to teach risk leaders important lessons about...
Topics: General
April 8, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Choose Your Own Adventure to Risk and Reward
If you’ve ever faced a personal crisis or a crisis at your organization, you know how all-consuming and paralyzing it can be. It’s hard to see beyond the hour or the day when the bad news keeps coming. During these...
Topics: General
March 25, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Choose Essential: Define Your Singular Risk Priority
This week I’ve been reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. The book’s themes touch on a prickly subject for me: saying “no.” A very wise friend once told me that we often say yes out of...
Topics: General
March 21, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Do This, Not That: 5 Essential Risk Policy Drafting Tips
This week I’ve been busy helping consulting clients and Affiliate Members make sense of (and hopefully improve!) an array of longstanding risk-themed policies, from employee handbooks to vendor contracts and risk-scoring frameworks. In between writing and re-writing, I was able...
Topics: General
March 3, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Round and Round: The Leadership Learning Loop
I recently listened to a compelling interview with Katlin Smith on the NPR program “How I Built This,” hosted by Guy Raz. Smith founded Simple Mills while working as a management consultant at Deloitte and attending the first year of...
Topics: General
February 9, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Toss the Register, Make a Plan Instead
One of the most common risk management tools is a detailed list or inventory of ‘threats’ facing an organization. Many risk leaders refer to their ever-expanding, sometimes colossal spreadsheet as a “risk register.” During our 25 years of guiding risk...
Topics: General
February 2, 2021
Resource Type: Risk eNews
How to Adopt an Optimistic Risk Frame
Several years ago, I experienced the phenomenon of a waning friendship whose decline I struggled to fully understand. I was perplexed that my friend’s texts and invites caused dread instead of delight. Racking my rational brain led to endless questions...
Topics: General