by Rick Baker
On Sep 30, 2013
Thought Tweet #836.5 Are the people who post warning signs pessimists or optimists?
The Thinking Behind The Tweet
Some business people treat risk management as if it is just a dirty pair of words. Others treat it like it's the territory of the worst of pessimists.
For me, risk management is a talent - a strength...naturally enjoyed by some of us and very foreign to others. Risk Management is about warning signs. It is about the ability to see risks before they happen and post warning signs about the risks to save others from injury. Business Contains Only 3 Things: People, Process, & Situations. Risk Management is about the risks tied to these 3 things.
Risk Managers may or may not be pessimists.
Risk Managers may or may not be optimists.
Regardless, good Risk Managers must be realists.
Good Risk Managers are 'present' - they see the present reality, both the good pieces of reality and the bad pieces of reality. Their views are not tainted by pressure of the present or the baggage of the past.
Good Risk Managers are 'visionary' - they have a good sense for patterns and trends and they have a good sense about how present patterns and trends can unfold into future situations.
Risk managers deliver value to business processes and other business people. Sometimes, they deliver company-saving value. Risk Managers know much about The School of Hard Knocks and they know how to spare other business people the hardest of business knocks.