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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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January 26, 2021

Resource Type: Risk eNews

It’s About Time

I recently succumbed to a barrage of ads and installed Blinkist on my phone. If you haven’t heard, this app is a crib-notes tool for lovers of nonfiction audiobooks. The app distills a vast array of nonfiction books into 15-minute...

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January 13, 2021

Resource Type: Risk eNews

Book Smart, Part 2: “Ah-Ha” Moments from a Year of Reading Well

As I shared last week, the term “book smart” is an adjective meaning “Having knowledge acquired from books or study; scholarly, bookish; frequently implying lack of common sense or worldliness.” (Source: Lexico.) And although ‘book smart’ is often a pejorative...

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