Wow. I know not everyone is embracing risk management and gaining the value it should deliver. However, it was a bit of a shock recently to have two different conversations with CEO’s people had introduced me to, to help them find and drink from the risk management trough because they simply did not get the value.

To be fair. They were both entrepreneurs who had built successful companies. They know how to take risks. However, both organisations had reached a size where good governance becomes a necessity because of the increasing levels of complexity.

What surprised me most was how negative they were about the idea of simply running a strategic risk workshop, let alone building a risk management framework. Their attitude was “I need tick this compliance box for the board”.

Fortunately, I had been introduced to them as someone who ran engaging workshops that gave management and board value (come to my next Mastering Risk Workshop Facilitation course to find out how). With the door slightly ajar I was able to stick my foot through and start the process of changing their minds. I spoke about helping the exec and the board to get onto the same page with their strategy and to do my best to ask questions that would challenge their thinking. The result would be:

• Greater confidence in some or even all elements of their strategy.
• A realisation of which elements of the strategy need most attention in the near term.
• A harsher realisation that some elements need re-thinking.

In my experience, most senior leaders are happy to be challenged like this (often because the are thinking they will be proven right) and are more than happy to have the board fully onboard with the plan.

The risk profession continues to build and I don’t seem to be out of a job anytime soon ☺