Do you know where the deep sea drilling rigs in your industry, firm, and career are even located or do you “feel like” you manage risk well? Risk is a part of life and in the tedium of daily routines and the work at hand; risks often go unidentified, unrecognized, and unmanaged. Everything can’t be planned for, and risk management can be paralyzing and detrimental when taken to extremes; but many routinely pass by (or start) ticking time bombs without an inkling or second thought of the lurking danger.
Thoughtful and deliberate identification, consideration, assessment and understanding of undertaking risks are essential. While, checklists and controls are a necessary part of the risk management process, they also tend to provide a false sense of security and relate to specific points in time. Honest open communication within your organization about how significant risks are identified, monitored, controlled and minimized has to be made a core principal.
There is inherently less uncertainty in an organization staying close to its core competency and pushing efficiencies with as many repeatable scalable activities as possible. Management of a project by an experienced team provided with clear and unwavering vision, continuity and unimpeded momentum becomes less difficult and requires less resources. Control over a process replete with opportunities to leverage institutional knowledge and take advantage of learning curves is infinitely easier than starting from scratch (often with teams that also have little history together). The pace of transformational change today requires adaptation, but it is costly not to leverage institutional knowledge and reckless to dismiss the risk that cumulative reinvention brings with it.
Don’t negotiate with, or lie to, yourself. Significant risks can spiral out of control quickly and be devastating. No matter how well run it is, you intuitively know significant risks exist in your organization that could be managed better. The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 is tragic and over time we will learn the specifics of what happened. In the mean time, let it be the catalyst for reassessing risk in your organization and planning for your successful future. Take proactive control.
Thoughtful and deliberate identification, consideration, assessment and understanding of undertaking risks are essential. While, checklists and controls are a necessary part of the risk management process, they also tend to provide a false sense of security and relate to specific points in time. Honest open communication within your organization about how significant risks are identified, monitored, controlled and minimized has to be made a core principal.
There is inherently less uncertainty in an organization staying close to its core competency and pushing efficiencies with as many repeatable scalable activities as possible. Management of a project by an experienced team provided with clear and unwavering vision, continuity and unimpeded momentum becomes less difficult and requires less resources. Control over a process replete with opportunities to leverage institutional knowledge and take advantage of learning curves is infinitely easier than starting from scratch (often with teams that also have little history together). The pace of transformational change today requires adaptation, but it is costly not to leverage institutional knowledge and reckless to dismiss the risk that cumulative reinvention brings with it.
Don’t negotiate with, or lie to, yourself. Significant risks can spiral out of control quickly and be devastating. No matter how well run it is, you intuitively know significant risks exist in your organization that could be managed better. The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 is tragic and over time we will learn the specifics of what happened. In the mean time, let it be the catalyst for reassessing risk in your organization and planning for your successful future. Take proactive control.
