Monthly Archives: February 2010

H1N1 fears and IT disaster recovery lesson learned

February 26, 2010

It’s nice to see that the pandemic fear generated some positive change with respect to IT disaster recovery. Now if on the ERM community could get some traction from the global threat or some other infectious disease… one can only hope. You know what? I think I am going to create a virus like they did in 12 Monkeys (or at the very least start blogging or Tweeting about it). Maybe that’s what it will take to put the fear of the gods in CFOs and Boards so I get some ERM work. Have a read at “The H1N1 pandemic…

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Timing and severity of risk treatments

February 24, 2010

Are risk management treatments that we implement influenced by the timing and the severity of the event? How about emotion? In hockey, a player is penalized 2 minutes for a high stick to the face of another player; but the penalized player is given a 4 minute penalty if the other player bleeds. The action is the same, but why is the punishment a function of the outcome? Should that matter? On February 12, 2010, hours before the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Winter Games, Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili died after a crash during a training run. As a…

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Promote a culture of Truth

February 24, 2010

My 11-year old came home from school this week and told me he got into trouble and was sent to the office. At lunch, he was horsing around with his buddies and threw some lunch meats at each other. Fortunately, no one was injured. I asked him if was going to do that again, he said no, and that was the end of it. He replied how glad he was that he could tell me the Truth. After all, if I yelled at him every time he screwed up, he would lie or keep secrets. I believe I have created…

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CGA commerical about risk management is gibberish

February 23, 2010

I was sitting on my couch enjoying a glass of VAT 69 when a tv commercial came on that grabbed my attention. It was for Certified General Accountants, and they were talking about risk. I put down my scotch and paused my PVR to watch it again, then I decided I should transcribe the commercial for you. It bugged me. I take my risk management very seriously but this commercial gave me the impression they  figured if they say the word “risk” a few times it will sound like they had some sort of superpower. They have no superpowers. They…

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John Adams: Making God Laugh

February 23, 2010

If you have not had a chance to read this gem, have a look at John Adams’ “Making God laugh: a risk management tutorial“. He writes: The words “risk” and “management” sit uncomfortably alongside each other. Many people believe that it is possible to distinguish “real”, “actual” or “objective” risk from “perceived” risk. But all risk is perceived. It is a word that refers to the future, a future that exists only in our imaginations. Those who call themselves risk managers purport to be able to manage the future. They are oblivious to Woody Allen’s hubris puncturing question “How do…

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To bribe or not to bribe?

February 23, 2010

Riskcontainment.com writes about bribery issues faced by IKEA in Russia.  I am curious why IKEA went so far as actually building the store if they knew that local officials were corrupt and greasing palms is the cost of doing business. Was this an unidentified risk or one which was identified and managed with unsustainable risk treatments? Click here to go to the article.

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Ask questions

February 23, 2010

Have you ever been in a meeting where you had no idea what everyone was talking about but were afraid to ask any questions for fear of looking look a dork? Then read this post by Rick Nason. Similarly, I am always troubled when someone gives a presentation and nobody asks any questions and you see nodding heads and glazed eyes. This usually means nobody understands anything and/or they have no vested interest in either position so agree by default. Watch for this and think about this quote from William Wrigley Jr (the gum guy): “When two men in business…

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I am most influential in Canada

February 22, 2010

I do not pretend to understand how the site www.wefollow.com even works or how it calculates its list of Most Influential Twitter accounts. But  according to them, I am currently the Most Influential Canadian in the Risk category and 5th in the Risk Universe. I do not have the most followers either and the last time I checked I was #21, but I’ll take it. Yes, you are probably thinking, Wow, Trevor, I had no idea that your credentials were quite so extensive! (Thank you, thank you, throw money.) If you are not following me on Twitter, click here to…

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Wash your hands please

February 20, 2010

In a book titled, Whack-a-Mole by David Marx, the author writes about the history of hand washing: “Given the high propensity for clean running water in most restrooms, one might expect near 100 percent compliance.” However, Marx explains, there is only a 60% compliance rate. In hospitals. Gross. If six out of every ten people in a hospital wash their hands, then about half the folks in your office, your congregation and your school follow proper hand-washing techniques. Grossitation. Marx also points out that men are less likely to wash their hands than women and when in a public washroom…

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Insuring against an athlete being involved in a scandal

February 2, 2010

New York Times writes about companies insuring against scandals like the recent Tiger Woods events. In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, insurers are being inundated with inquiries from corporations seeking to protect their investments, their brands and even their sales when their celebrity endorsers suffer public embarrassment. Many companies take out death and disability insurance to cover themselves in the event that an athlete or celebrity endorser dies or is injured while under contract. In a new wrinkle, more companies are trying to insure against the potential loss of sales when an athlete product endorser is involved in…

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