Resources
Risk Management Should Unite Your Team, Not Divide It
By Rachel Sams A mature, traditional enterprise risk management model can be a wonderful thing for a nonprofit organization. But then everything could change, and you might need something else. That’s what Tara Thomas and Heather Chadwick of Teach For America learned as the pandemic rocked their organization and all nonprofits. Teach For America’s risk … Continued
Growing Up Fast: Risk Program Maturity
By Melanie Lockwood Herman Every year on my daughter’s birthday, I am reminded of how quickly time passes. So many milestones in her life seem like they happened moments ago: her first Halloween-themed birthday party, the first day of kindergarten, her first dance recital, and so on. During a recent birthday chat, I refrained from … Continued
Make Patience a Prerequisite
By Melanie Lockwood Herman While visiting my parents in the lovely coastal town of Falmouth, MA, I’ve observed two distinct types of drivers. The first type of driver pulls onto the main roadway, seemingly unaware (or unconcerned) that drivers with the right of way must brake to avoid a collision. This first type of driver … Continued
Chunk Change: Ask for Less to Get More
By Melanie Lockwood Herman I’ve just finished reading Jonah Berger’s book, The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind. Two compelling takeaways were Berger’s suggestions that leaders 1. Ask for less to get more, and 2. Break big asks into smaller, more manageable ‘chunks.’ He offers the following advice for anyone having a difficult time persuading … Continued
Learn, Adapt, Repeat
“Those at the top of an organization typically used to say that the answer lay in a sound plan. . . The reason for this is the underlying conceit that we can both know the future and master it. That has always been a dubious claim, but in today’s uncertain environment it is patently ridiculous. … Continued
Engage: Inspiring Voter Participation and Engagement
(download The Political Risk issue of Risk Management Essentials, here.) By Whitney Claire Thomey Elected officials have a direct influence on fundamental issues related to our quality of life. These issues encompass everything from the minimum wage to the availability of funding for community-supported programs, from investments in vital infrastructure to the staffing of public … Continued
Oh! The Places We Will Go with ERM
By Katharine Nesslage Nonprofit teams that resolve to strengthen risk capabilities by embracing Enterprise Risk Management should integrate an evaluation component from the start. Why? Early supporters of your ERM program will want to see and understand how the program is changing the organization for the better. And as a risk champion, you’ll want to … Continued
Who’s on First? Getting the Players in Place for ERM
By Christy Grano In a famous 1930s skit “Who’s on First,” comedian Lou Costello tries hopelessly to learn the names of players on a fictional baseball team as his straight man Bud Abbott explains that the basemen are named “Who,” “What,” and “I don’t know.” The two nearly come to blows in the mounting confusion … Continued
All Aboard: Embracing ERM in Your Nonprofit
By Melanie Lockwood Herman If you’ve been hearing references to Enterprise Risk Management or ERM frameworks you’re probably wondering whether this particular incarnation of risk management is relevant to your organization. You may also be wondering whether transforming a perfectly good risk management function into an ERM program is worth the time, effort, and expense. … Continued
Egalitarian Risk Leadership: Flatten or Fatten?
By Melanie Lockwood Herman In our capacity as advisors and coaches, the NRMC team develops and adapts risk management frameworks, strategies and tools for the complex nonprofits we serve. No two consulting clients or Affiliate Members are the same. To make the consideration of risk a worthwhile endeavor, versus a rote ritual, it’s crucial to … Continued
Use Design Thinking to Find Creative Solutions to Worrisome Risks
By Katharine Nesslage “Some of our important choices have a timeline. If we delay a decision, the opportunity is gone forever. Sometimes our doubts keep us from making a choice that involves change. Thus, an opportunity may be missed.”– James E. Faust As disruption—rapid change in current behavior with no time to oppose it—becomes the … Continued
Scorched Middle Earth: Banishing The Department of No
by Melanie Lockwood Herman As fans of high fantasy fiction know first-hand, Middle-earth is the fictional setting for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the most widely-read books from English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. According to Wikipedia, “Middle-earth has also become a short-hand to refer to the legendarium and Tolkien’s fictional take … Continued
Evaluate Your Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program
Watch this webinar to explore ERM maturity and benchmarking, and the evaluation of ERM capabilities. Learn about NRMC’s risk management maturity model, which can serve as a framework for developing your nonprofit’s ERM capabilities over time. Gain practical insights to ERM evaluation so you can better demonstrate the positive impact of your ERM program. This … Continued
Strategic Risk Assessment & Management
Get your executive team and board of directors involved in identifying, assessing, and managing risk at the strategy level. Leave this webinar with practical steps that can help leaders identify, understand, and monitor the big picture threats to your mission. This program is part 4 of our 5-part 2018 ERM webinar series. Watch part 1, Enterprise … Continued
Setting & Applying Your Risk Appetite
Dive into the concept of risk appetite with this webinar. Learn about a couple common risk appetite frameworks, and the NRMC team’s philosophy for applying risk appetite in a practical way that relates to decision-making. Engage your team in dialogue about your collective risk appetite, and guide your team to confidently make decisions that align … Continued
Risk Oversight & Risk Reporting to the Board
Quench your board’s thirst for assurance that your staff teams are carefully managing risks at the operational level. Learn to deliver a compelling risk report to your board that inspires confidence and productive conversation. Also learn about the board’s risk oversight role, and gain practical tips for engaging your board in your ERM program. This … Continued
Risk Assessment Perspectives: Re-Lens with Three Approaches
By Melanie Lockwood Herman For some, an updated prescription from an optometrist is the perfect reason to pick out a new pair of frames. For me, a new prescription led me to purchase vintage frames, which required finding a company offering a “re-lens” service. Many retailers with optical departments are risk averse: refusing to put … Continued
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) 101
Watch this kickoff to the 2018 ERM webinar series, presented by Erin Gloeckner. Learn the philosophies behind Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and how ERM differs from conventional risk management. Understand why ERM is a critical component of mission stewardship and of strategic risk management. Learn four common barriers to developing effective ERM capabilities in a … Continued
Risk Management Maturity: Where Do You Stand?
Hosting an Office Holiday Party? Listen to Episode #3 of The Risk Jockeys Podcast: Ho Ho Hold On There! Managing Office Party Risks ~8.5 minutes | Recorded 12.16.17 Looking back on the NRMC team’s work throughout 2017, one of the hottest topics for our consulting clients and Affiliate Members was risk management maturity. Nonprofit … Continued
The Garden of Risk Oversight: Positioning the Board to Cultivate Strategic Risk-Taking
By Melanie Lockwood Herman When considering the myriad risks facing a nonprofit organization, one could identify many risks that should be safeguarded against, mitigated, or prevented if possible. Strategic risks are another animal altogether, or more appropriately, a garden of risks that—if properly tended to—will grow to fruition and advance the nonprofit’s mission and vision. … Continued
Lessons from a Risk Appetite Exercise (Risk Leadership Certificate Program)
By Erin Gloeckner The inaugural 2017 Risk Leadership Certificate Program (RLCP) is complete and the NRMC team plans to continue sharing updates and insights from this intensive risk leadership training program in the weeks ahead. One topic that our cohort explored during our final weekend together was risk appetite. As a UK-based financial institution defined … Continued
Managing the Perils of Prosperity
March 31, 2016 By Melanie Lockwood Herman Organizational growth and perceptions about success go hand in hand. Like the subtitle of Tom Peters’ book, The Circle of Innovation: You Can’t Shrink Your Way to Greatness, many boards, donors and other stakeholders believe that year-over-year growth is an indicator of good organizational health. The April 2016 … Continued
Ready, Mindset, Go!
April 6, 2016 By Melanie Lockwood Herman During two Risk Assessments / ERM engagements for complex nonprofit organizations, our team has shared the idea of a ‘risk aware mindset’ with our clients. What are we referring to? In general, we’re talking about a leadership team that is: Eager to learn, and learn some more Comfortable … Continued
Enterprise Risk Management: The Final Frontier
By Melanie Lockwood Herman It’s hard not to notice the growing use of the term “Enterprise Risk Management” among risk professionals. Yet there seems to be little agreement about what that combination of three words really means, and perhaps more importantly, whether the addition of “enterprise” to the more familiar term “risk management” makes a … Continued