Happy Boxing Day!
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
Executive Director
By Melanie Lockwood Herman
In the spirit of Boxing Day, the holiday celebrated in nations of the British Commonwealth and in the American Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this edition of the RISK eNews contains a “boxed set” of resources.
Reflection Questions for 2018
During multiple consulting engagements this year my conversations with clients focused on the importance of engaging in conversations about risk as the most important aspect of risk management. Contrary to common belief, risk systems and frameworks are of secondary importance: Candid conversations trump tired risk process diagrams every time. In the spirit of daring to question, here are my favorite prompts for fruitful dialog:
- Challenge assumptions: How many things has our team been dead wrong about?
- Embrace surprise: How were we completely surprised—but in a good way—this year? What unfortunate events or circumstances caught us by surprise? What were the downsides of our best surprises, and the silver linings of the worst?
- Celebrate learning: What was the most important lesson we learned this year? The most painful?
- Resolve to do differently: What risk event or activity truly inspired us to ‘do differently next year? How will we be and do different next time?
- Stay future focused: What elements of a successful risk culture will we focus on next year? And what indicators should we look for as signals that our risk culture is starting to change for the better or worse? (for inspiration, see Chapter 10 of World-Class Risk Management for Nonprofits)
- Get the board on board: In what ways did our board contribute to our shared understanding of our risk landscape? How might we engage the board in fruitful risk conversations next year?
- Hone your skill set: Are we skilled at considering and preparing for various futures and contingencies? What three things do we need to adopt or improve upon next year to build the skills our mission needs and deserves?
2019 Webinars
We’re excited about the brand-new line-up of monthly Affiliate Member webinars and hope you are as well. We narrowed a long list of intriguing risk themes into our line-up of twelve timely topics. Each program will be on a Wednesday afternoon at 2 pm Eastern. Traveling or otherwise engaged on the day we deliver the “live” program? Not to worry. Every webinar will be recorded and available as an MP4 file within minutes of its completion. In addition, handouts will be available prior to the delivery of each program. The NRMC series of webinars is ideal for risk leaders looking to refresh their knowledge, explore the nuances of familiar challenges, or present ready-made training for peers. These programs are available exclusively to NRMC Affiliate Members. Not a member? Sign up today!
January 9 – Developing and Maintaining an Effective CEO-Board Partnership
February 13 – Managing Risk and Reward in a Multigenerational Workforce
March 13 – Running Successful Risk Workshops
April 10 – Cyber Liability Insurance: What You Need to Know
May 8 – Five Low-Cost Ways to Inspire Driver Safety
June 6 – Risk Reporting
July 10 – Managing Risk in Tech Vendor Selection
August 14 – Five Low-Tech Ways to Anticipate and Manage Active Threats
September 11 – Crisis Communications
October 16 – Understanding and Managing Risk Culture
November 6 – Managing Talent Acquisition Risk
December 11 – Risk Management: It’s FUNdamental
Best of the RISK eNews
A hearty thank you to everyone who wrote to me this year to say that you enjoyed a particular issue of our weekly newsletter. Your comments, suggestions, insights and thank you notes kept our team thinking and writing. Here’s my list of 10 favorite pieces written by our team, including my colleagues Erin Gloeckner, Delia Jones, Christy Grano and Glenn Mott. If you haven’t had a chance to read these—or share them with cherished colleagues—there’s no time like the present!
8 Tips for a Happy Unicorn Meeting
Person of Interest: Soliciting Insights from Staff In-The-Know
Scorched Middle Earth: Banishing the Department of No
The Power of Anecdote: True Stories of Nonprofit Risk from the Front Lines
A Matter of Opinion: Risk Aware Publishing Insights
Risk Management Leaders Must be Unstoppably Optimistic
Selfless Leadership: When to Leave Fingerprints
Risk Assessment Perspectives: Re-Lens with Three Approaches
Pass the Remote! The Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs of Telecommuting Teams
Melanie Lockwood Herman is Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She welcomes your thoughts about risk management and awareness throughout the year, or questions about NRMC Affiliate Member and Consulting Services. Melanie can be reached at 703.777.3504 or Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org.
“First let me congratulate you on a conference well done. I had a great time at the Nonprofit Employee Benefits Conference and walked away with some valuable tools and questions that we’ll need to be addressing in both the short and long term. Thanks to you and your staff for all you do to provide us with quality resources in support of our missions.”
— Scott Brown, Mohonk Preserve
“BBYO’s engagement of the Center to conduct a risk assessment was one of the most valuable processes undertaken over the past five years. Numerous programmatic and procedural changes were recommended and have since been implemented. Additionally, dozens (literally) of insurance coverage gaps were identified that would never have been without the work of the Center. This assessment led to a broker bidding process that resulted in BBYO’s selection of a new broker that we have been extremely satisfied with. I unconditionally recommend the Center for their consultative services.
— Sidney Abrams, BBYO
“Melanie Herman has provided expert, insightful, timely and well resourced information to our Executive Team and Board of Directors. Our corporation recently experienced massive growth through merger and the Board has been working to better integrate their expanded set of roles and responsibilities. Melanie presented at our Annual Board of Director’s Retreat and captured the interest of our Board members. As a result of her excellent presentation the Board has engaged in focused review which is having immediate effects on governance.”
— Pamela Mattel, Basics Promesa Systems Inc
“The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has been an outstanding partner for us. They are attentive to our needs, and work hard to successfully meet our requests for information. Being an Affiliate member gave us access to so many time- and money-saving resources that it easily paid for itself! Nonprofit Risk Management Center is truly a valued partner of The Community Foundation of Elkhart County and we are continuously able to optimize staff time with the support given by their team.”
— Jodi Spataro, Community Foundation of Elkhart County
“The board and staff of the Prince George’s Child Resource Center are extremely pleased with the results of the risk assessment conducted by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. A thorough scan revealed that while we are a well run organization, we had risks that we never imagined. We are grateful to know that we have now minimized our organizational risks and we recommend the Center to other nonprofits.”
— Marti Worshtil, Prince George’s Child Resource Center
Great American Insurance Group’s Specialty Human Services is committed to protecting those who improve your communities. The Center team has committed to delivering dynamic risk management solutions tailored to nonprofit organizations. These organizations have many and varied risk issues, hence the need for specialized coverage and expert knowledge for their protection. We’ve had Melanie speak on several occasions to employees and our agents. She is always on point and delivers such great value. Thank you for the terrific partnership and allowing our nonprofits to focus on their mission!