In his book “Outliers”, author Malcolm Gladwell explains how “The kinds of errors that cause plane crashes are invariably errors of teamwork and communication” as opposed to mechanical causes. Also, they usually happen after a sequence of mistakes and…
ERM, Stephen Covey and my 13-year old son
When my son was 7-years old he asked me what I did for a living. I explained that “Daddy goes to companies and helps them find where all the bad things are.” Ironically, this definition served me well when I…
Risk management oldies but goodies
The good folks at Riskviews got me thinking about my least read posts. I’ve been doing this for a few years and understand that no one wants to scroll through over 300 blog entries to find some gems from 2006.…
They will always find a way to screw you
I worked about six shifts at a Burger King in a shopping mall when I was in my teens. I quit because I didn’t care much for wearing the brown pants and hairnet. On my final night, the closing shift,…
There’s risk in relying on risk managers
Andrew Hill from the Financial Times writes there’s risk in relying on risk managers. He also notes that despite Carsten Kengeter’s assertion: “We will not rest until we have controls that are as watertight as possible”, we all know that…
Lord Voldemort: Risk Manager of the Year
Lord Voldermort would make an excellent risk manager because when he identifies a risk, he assesses it and treats it immediately. Here are a few of my reasons but I welcome additional examples of his risk management in the comment…
When treating a risk creates another risk and so on and so on
Sometimes in an effort to treat an issue, we generate a different risk or increase an existing one in the process. Many of us can relate to when the internal auditors come in, look at existing processes and weak controls…
Review of Keith Baxter’s book Fast Track to Success: Risk Management
When Keith Baxter published his book Fast Track to Success: Risk Management, I tweeted to him I would read it during the Christmas break last year then review it. At that time I was about halfway through 4100 pages of…
The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley
I’ve just updated the Risk Quotes page with a few lines from Amanda Ripley’s book The Unthinkable. It’s an excellent read for anyone responsible for business continuity planning, risk management or even if your are just the fire warden on…
TV ad: With opportunity comes risk
I just heard a tv commercial for CME Group which was clearly written by someone on Madison Avenue who never read a risk management framework. Creative must of thought: “Let’s say the words ‘risk’ and ‘opportunity’ because it will sound businessy.” This idea…