This is the first in a series of posts that attempt to get to the essence of
The key word, of course, is “
This topic – the first one – is on risk
To answer that question, I will first avoid recapping all of the authoritative descriptions. Many of the definitions and explanations lead to over-complication. I prefer to keep it simple. As a business person, my point of reference is always centered around organizational results. In that context, risk management is very simple. It is the group of organizational activities that try to improve results by making the unpredictable a little more predictable. It’s that simple.
Managing risk is simply taking steps to make each goal a little more certain. Whether it’s crossing a busy street, taking medication, or any of the other examples mentioned above – risk management consists those activities that eliminate uncertainty to help you get what you want and avoid what you don’t want.
With this understanding of risk at its simplest and most fundamental level, I will explore the essence of specific parts of risk management in future posts.