Risks in Your Mirror May Be Closer than You Think…
You are familiar with the sign: “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear,” which is the “warning sign” on your vehicle’s door mirrors.
Applying this warning to the risk management space, one can identify Examples of risks that are much closer to your organization (and you) than they may appear to be:
- Artificial Intelligence,(Generative AI)
- cybersecurity
- current extreme weather events (climate change) and the potential impact on employees and businesses
- Current Geo-political events (Russia, Israel, France, England)
- Future Societal disruptions (in your region)
- Future laws and regulations
I would also like to “tweak” that warning sign and apply it to a risk management reference: Risks in your mirror may be closer than you think.
A perfect example is in the public health/medical space where once “eradicated,” diseases are again appearing: Scarlet fever, measles, mumps, tuberculosis, and even polio are examples.
I have often said that modern risk management involves viewing risks with both a microscope and a telescope, which means identifying those risks that are close and those beyond the horizon.
Given the shift from a poly-crises to a perma-crises environment, it’s crucial that we, as risk practitioners and leaders, update our risk management processes and our thinking around risk management. This is to ensure that potential risk sources don’t blindside us. We must be proactive, anticipatory, and resilient, looking forward, back, near, and far. Rest assured, these updates will significantly enhance your risk management capabilities.
Let’s collectively stay proactive, anticipatory, and resilient in our risk management practices. It’s not just a suggestion, it’s a necessity in our ever-changing world.
